// 


TRADING. 


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•'  Miss  Warner  has  :i  remarkable  talent  in  the  creation  of  charm 
ing  little  tfirls  with  tender  consciences,  yet  natural  \vi:ii:il;  and 
'The  House  in  Town.'  tin-  third  of  a  series,  is  no  exception.  She 
BC  heroine  tVnin  ih<-  hard  lilV  <if  toil  and  of  harder  still  de- 
].«-idrnr.-.  and  places  her  on  the  s->ft,  downy  cushions  of  luxury, 
surrounded  by  the  iieculiar  temptations  wealth  always  brings. 
But  with  the  Bible  as  a  chart  in  her  hand,  she  finds  her  way 
out  of  these  shoals  and  quicksands,  only  made  the  stronger  and 
better  by  the  encounter."  —  Christian  Weekly. 


THE   OLD   HELMET. 

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ROBERT    CARTER    AND    BROTHERS, 

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, 


TRADING: 


FINISHING   THE 


STORY  OF  "THE  HOUSE  IN  TOWN,"  &c. 


TBY   THE   AUTHOR   OF 

"WIDE   WIDE    WORLD,"    "THE    OLD    HELMET," 
"WALKS    FROM    EDEN,"   &C.,   &0. 


"For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  as  a  man  travelling  into  a  far 
country,  who  called  his  own  servants,  and  delivered  unto  them  his 
goods." 


NEW     YORK: 

ROBERT   CARTER   AND   BROTHERS, 

530  BROADWAY. 
1873. 


vx£)u 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 

ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTI 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


OAMBRmOKt 
PRESS  OF  JOILN  WILSON  A1TO  SOW. 


TRADING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHRISTMAS  day  was  grey  with  clouds  ; 
on  the  roofs  of  the  city  and  in  the  streets 
the  sun  never  shone  all  day.  People  called  it 
cold.  Sarah  Staples  found  it  so  on  her  cross 
ing.  Inside  Mrs.  Lloyd's  front-door,  how 
ever,  it  seemed  to  Matilda  to  be  nothing  but 
sunshine.  She  had  not  leisure  to  look  at  the 
grey  sky,  and  to  be  sure  the  temperature  was 
that  of  summer.  Matilda  had  a  great  deal 
to  do.  Her  various  parcels  were  to  be  neatly 
tied  up  in  white  paper,  with  the  names  of  the 
persons  they  were  for  nicely  written  thereon, 
and  then  committed  to  Mrs.  Bartholomew  for 
arranging  on  the  Christmas  tree.  Then  the 
presents  for  Anne  and  Letitia  were  to  be 


6  TRADING. 

directed  and  sent ;  Maria's  basket  packed  and 
put  in  charge  of  the  express-man  ;  and  several 
little  letters  written,  one  to  Mr.  Richmond. 
Till  all  these  things  were  done,  Matilda  had 
no  time  to  think  of  the  weather;  then  she 
found  that  the  snow  was  beginning  to  fall 
and  coming  thick. 

"  Yes,"  said  Norton,  to  whom  she  an 
nounced  her  discovery  ;  "  and  it's  stinging  ! 
and  coming  on  to  blow.  It  will  be  a  night! 
I  like  it.  That  feels  like  Christmas." 

"Then  there'll  be  no  party?"  said  Matilda, 
rather  more  disappointed  than  she  wanted  to 
shew. 

"  Party  ?  "  said  Norton,  "  what  about  the 
party  ?  It  won't  snow  in  here.  Pink.  What 
are  you  thinking  of?  The  party'll  be  all  the 
merrier.  I  tell  you,  it  feels  like  Christmas." 

"  But  will  they  come,  through  all  the 
storm  ?  " 

"  They'd  come,  if  the  hailstones  were  as 
big  as  eggs,"  said  Norton.  "  You  never  >a\v 
one  of  grandmother's  Christmas  trees,  Pink; 


TRADING.  7 

and  they  never  did  anywhere  else.  ~No  fear 
but  they'll  come,  every  one  of  them.  You  go 
along  and  get  dressed." 

Matilda  ran  upstairs,  glancing  out  of  the 
hall  window  as  she  passed  with  a  thrill  of 
delight  and  mystery.  The  air  was  darkening 
already  with  the  falling  snow,  and  the  wind 
swept  it  past  the  house  in  a  white  mass ; 
by  contrast  the  evening  splendours  seemed 
greater  than  ever.  She  dressed  in  a  trem 
bling  excitement  of  pleasure,  as  far  as  her 
own  part  of  the  preparation  went ;  then  Mrs. 
Laval's  maid  came  in  to  finish  her  toilette, 
and  Mrs.  Laval  came  to  superintend  it.  Ma 
tilda  had  only  to  stand  still  and  be  curled  and 
robed  and  sashed  and  slippered  ;  till  the  work 
was  done,  the  maid  went,  and  Mrs.  Laval 
took  the  child  in  her  arms  and  asked  if  she 
was  happy  ? 

"  Very  happy,"  Matilda  said. 

"  It  does  not  take  much  to  make  you 
happy,  love." 

"  Why,    mamma  1  "    said   Matilda   looking 


8 


down  at  her  white  ruffles  and  then  at  her 
adopted  mother,  "  I  have  so  much  that  I  don't 
know  what  to  do!" 

Mrs.  Laval  smiled  and  sighed,  and  kissed 
her  again. 

"  And  yet  Christmas  night  is  only  begin 
ning,"  she  said.  But  the  wind  and  the  hail 
dashed  at  the  windows  as  if  answering  her 
that  it  had  indeed  begun  outside.  Mrs.  Laval 
went  away  to  her  own  dressing,  and  Matilda 
stood  a  moment  at  the  window  listening.  It 
was  long  after  dark  now;  but  she  could  hear  the 
whistle  of  the  sleet  as  the  wind  bore  it  past, 
and  the  rush  of  ice  and  snow  against  the 
window-panes,  and  even  through  the  close- 
fining  sa.-h  she  could  feel  a  little  gush  of 
keen  air.  And  for  one  moment  Matilda's 
thoughts  darted  to  Sarah,  at  her  crossing  and 
in  her  cellar  home  all  that  day  and  night. 
The  contrast  was  as  sharp  as  that  little  gush 
of  icy  air.  Was  it  right?  Matilda  thought 
Was  it  right,  that  her  dainty  white  dress  should 
be  so  pretty  on  her  and  the  Christmas  party  so 


TBADINQ.  9 

fine,  when  Sarah  and  others  like  her  were  in 
cold  and  wet  and  rags  ?  It  was  too  disagree 
able  to  think  about,  as  Matilda  could  not 
help  it ;  and  she  went  downstairs. 

How  the  house  was  lighted  up !  it  was  a 
second  daylight,  only  more  splendid.  What 
delicious  warm  air  filled  every  room,  and 
every  staircase,  and  every  lobby  !  How  hand 
some  looked  the  marble  floor  of  the  hall,  with 
its  luxurious  mats  at  every  door !  But  as  her 
foot  touched  the  marble  Matilda  found  some 
thing  else  to  think  of.  Norton  came  out. 
He  looked  her  up  and  down. 

"  What's   the  matter,  Norton  ?  "    said  Ma- 
tilda,  a  little  wanting  to  know  his  opinion. 
"  Nothing,"  said  he  nodding.     "  You'll  do." 
"  This  will  be  a  very  funny  dress  for  me  to 
play   proverbs  in,  —  don't   you  think  so  ?     I 
don't  look  much   like  Judy's   Satinalia." 

"  Not  much,"  said  Norton.  "  You  don't 
look  much  like  Judy's  anything.  O  Pink! 
do  you  know  we  are  going  to  have  a  witch 
here  to-night?" 


10  TRADING. 

"  A  witch  ?  "  said  Matilda. 

"  A  capital  witch.  It's  a  capital  idea  too, 
for  it's  a  new  thing;  and  it's  so  hard  to  get 
hold  of  something  new.  I  expect  this'll  be 
the  party  of  the  season/' 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  Matilda. 

"  You'll  see,"  said  Norton.  "  Only  don't 
be  frightened.  The  witch  won't  hurt  you." 

And  here  came  Judy,  and  took  a  good  si 
lent  stare  at  Matilda.  The  two  girls  were 
dressed  alike.  Norton  watched  them  with  a 
sly  glance.  Without  any  remark  or  saluta 
tion  Judy  passed  them  with  a  toss  of  her 
head,  and  went  into  one  of  the  drawing- 
rooms. 

"  She'll  do,"  said  Norton,  with  a  compe 
tent  nod  of  his  head  in  Judy's  direction. 
"  That  is,  she'll  do  the  insolent,  whenever  she 
has  a  mind  to.  She  is  a  case,  is  Judy  Bar 
tholomew.  Well,  come,  we  must  get  out  of 
the  way,  Pink.  Somebody'll  be  here  soon." 

So  they  strolled  into  the  lighted  drawing- 
rooms,  where  Judy  and  David  were;  and 


TEADINO.  II 

strolled  about,  consulting  arrangements  for 
the  play,  till  the  doors  opened  and  other 
white  dresses,  and  coloured  sashes,  and  gallant 
white-trowsered  young  gentlemen  began  to 
pour  in  and  claimed  their  attention.  And 
ladies  accompanied  them,  not  a  great  many, 
but  a  few  favoured  mothers  and  aunts  and 
elder  sisters;  and  soon  the  drawing-rooms 
were  all  alive  with  motion  and  colour,  and 
noisy  with  the  hum  of  many  voices. 

It  was  a  wonderful  scene  to  Matilda.  She 
forgot  that  she  had  so  little  to  do  with  it,  and 
was  so  left  out  of  it  by  the  gay  little  throng. 
She  did  not  at  first  think  of  that.  To  be 
sure  she  was  a  stranger ;  it  was  quite  natural, 
as  it  seemed  to  her,  that  she  should  be  left 
out.  The  pleasure  was  great  enough,  merely 
to  look  on.  Everybody  else  was  very  busy 
talking  and  laughing  and  moving  about  the 
rooms,  —  all  except  herself.  Matilda  had 
never  seen  such  a  display  of  very  young 
ladies  and  gentlemen ;  the  variety  of  styles, 
the  variety  of  dresses,  the  diversity  of  face 


12  TRADING. 

and  manner,  were  an  extremely  rich  enter 
tainment.  She  noticed  airs  and  graces  in 
some,  which  she  thought  sat  very  ill  on  them ; 

affectations  of  grown-up  manner,  tossings 

of  curls,  and  flaunting  of  white  gloves,  and 
waving  of  fans,  at  which  Matilda's  simplicity 
was  greatly  astonished.  Little  gentlemen 
stood  before  little  ladies,  with  hands  behind 
their  backs,  and  entertained  them  in  conver 
sation  which  appeared  to  be  of  the  politest 
sort.  And  Judy's  blue  scarf  flitted  from  end 
to  end  of  the  rooms,  dipped  to  the  floor  as 
she  courtesied  to  new  comers,  and  fluttered 
with  delight  as  she  darted  to  speak  to  some 
favourite  or  other.  The  rooms  grew  very 
lively.  The  gas  lights  shone  upon  all  the 
colours  of  the  rainbow,  moving  and  changing 
as  if  Mrs.  Lloyd's  house  had  been  a  kaleido 
scope.  David  and  Norton  were  not  in  the 
company.  Suddenly  Norton  stood  at  Ma 
tilda's  side. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here,  Pink  ?  " 
«  Nothing."      Matilda   looked   and  smiled 
at  him.     "  Only  looking  at  everything.'1 


TRADING.  13 

"  But  you  ought  to  be  in  it,  Pink." 

«  In  what  ?  " 

"  Why  !  in  the  work  ;  in  the  talk.  What 
are  you  sitting  in  a  corner  here  for  ?  " 

"  You  know,  Norton,  I  do  not  know  any 
body." 

"  Hasn't  Judy  introduced  you  ?  Not  to 
any  one  ?  "  said  Norton.  "  Left  you  here  ? 
Judy  Bartholomew!  if  it  wasn't  Christmas 
night  and  an  inconvenient  time  to  make  a 
row  "  — 

"  Hush,  hush,  Norton.  I  am  having  a  very 
good  time,"  said  Matilda,  looking  as  she  felt, 
like  a  very  happy  little  girl. 

"  Well,"  said  Norton,  "  there  are  two  odd 
people  here  to-night.  One  of  'em's  Judy 
Bartholomew,  and  the  other  —  is  somebody 
you  don't  know.  Come !  come  here.  Esther 
Francis! — this  is  my  sister,  my  new  sister 
Matilda.  Hasn't  Judy  introduced  you?" 

Norton  had  caught  by  the  arm,  as  she  was 
passing,  a  girl  of  about  Judy's  age,  whom  he 
thus  brought  face  to  face  with  Matilda.  She 


14  TRADING. 

was  sweet-faced  and  very  handsomely  dressed, 
and  she  had  no  sort  of  shyness  about  her. 
She  took  Matilda's  hand  and  looked  at  her 
with  a  steady  look. 

«  Take  care  of  her,  will  you  ? "  Norton 
went  on.  "  I  have  got  to  go  and  arrange 
things  with  Davie;  and  Judy  has  her  head 
full.  Tell  Matilda  who's  who ;  she  does  not 
know  the  people  yet." 

The  two  girls  stood  a  minute  or  two  si 
lently  together  ;  Esther  giving  however  a  side 
glance  now  and  then  at  her  companion. 

"  You  have  not  been  long  in  town  ?  "  she 
said  then,  by  way  of  beginning. 

"  Only  three  weeks." 

"  Of  course  then  you  are  quite  a  stranger. 
It  is  very  disagreeable,  isn't  it,  to  be  among  a 
whole  set  of  people  that  you  don't  know  ?  " 
Esther  said  it  with  a  little  turn  of  her  pretty 
head,  that  was  —  Matilda  could  not  tell  just 
what  it  was.  It  shewed  the  young  lady  very 
much  at  her  ease  in  society,  and  it  was  not 
quite  natural;  that  was  all  she  could  make 


TRADING.  15 

out.  Matilda  answered,  that  she  did  not  find 
anything  disagreeable.  Esther  opened  her 
eyes  a  little  wider. 

"  Do  you  know  all  about  the  arrangements 
to-night  ?  "  she  whispered. 

"  I  suppose  I  do." 

"  Will  there  be  dancing  ?  " 

"  I  have  heard  nothing  about  dancing,"  said 
Matilda.  «  I  don't  think  there'll  be  much 
time  for  it.  I  don't  see  how  there  can  be." 

"Are  you  very  fond  of  dancing?"  Esther 
asked,  with  her  eyes  at  the  further  end  of  the 
next  room. 

Matilda  was  conscious  of  feeling  ashamed 
of  her  answer.  Nevertheless  she  answered. 
"  I  do  not  know  how  to  dance." 

"  Not  dance ! "  said  Esther,  with  a  new 
glance  at  her.  "  Did  you  never  dance  ?  O 
there's  nothing  I  care  for  at  parties  but  to 
dance.  And  there  are  just  enough  here  to 
night;  not  a  crowd.  Aunt  Zara  will  send  you 
to  dancing-school,  I  suppose.  But  it  isn't  so 
pleasant  to  begin  to  learn  when  you  are  so  old." 


16  TRADING. 

"  Aunt  Zara  !  "  said  Matilda.  "  Norton  did 
not  say  you  were  his  cousin." 

"  Norton's  head  was  too  full,"  said  Esther 
with  another  movement  of  her  head  that 
struck  Matilda  very  much ;  it  was  quite  like 
a  grown-up  young  lady ;  and  gave  Matilda  the 
notion  that  she  thought  a  good  deal  of  Nor 
ton.  "  Yes ;  we  are  cousins ;  that  is  why  he 
told  me  to  take  care  of  you." 

Matilda  was  tempted  to  say  that  Norton 
would  save  her  that  trouble  as  soon  as  he  was 
at  leisure  to  take  it  upon  himself;  but  she  did 
not.  Instead,  she  asked  Esther  how  old  she  had 
been  when  she  began  to  take  dancing  lessons?  " 

"  I  don't  know;  three  and  a  half,  I  believe." 

The  deficiency  of  Matilda's  own  education 
pressed  upon  her  heavily.  She  was  a  little 
afraid  to  go  on,  for  fear  of  laying  bare  some 
other  want. 

"  Yes,"  said  Esther  after  another  interval 
of  being  absorbed  in  what  was  going  on  in 
the  next  room  ;  —  "  yes ;  of  course,  you  know  I 
began  to  learn  to  dance  as  soon  as  I  began  to 


TRADING.  17 

wear  —  stays"  she  uttered  in  a  whisper,  and 
went  on  aloud.  "  The  two  things  together. 
O  yes  ;  I  was  almost  four  years  old." 

Here  she  broke  off  to  speak  to  some  one 
passing,  and  Matilda  was  lost  in  wonderment 
again.  A  little  uneasy  too  ;  for  though  the 
young  lady  kept  her  post  at  the  side  of  the 
charge  Norton  had  given  her,  and  evidently 
meant  to  keep  it,  Matilda  thought  she  had  an 
air  of  finding  her  office  rather  a  bore.  A  young 
lady  who  had  danced  and  worn  stays  from 
the  time  she  was  four  years  old,  must  neces 
sarily  know  so  much  of  life  and  the  world 
that  a  little  ignoramus  of  a  country  girl  would 
be  a  bore. 

"  What  are  they  going  to  do  then  to-night, 
if  we  are  not  to  dance  ? "  resumed  Esther 
when  her  friend  had  passed  on.  "  Just  have 
the  Christmas  tree  and  nothing  else  ?  " 

Nothing  else  but  a  Christmas  tree !  Here 
was  an  experience ! 

"  Norton  and  David  are  going  to  make  a 
play,"  said  Matilda ;  "  acting  a  proverb." 
2 


l8  TRADING. 

"Oh!"  said  Esther.  "A  proverb!  David 
is  a  good  player,  and  Norton  too;  excellent; 
that  will  be  very  good.  I  thought  I  heard 
something  about  a  witch;  what  is  that?" 

"  What  is  what?"  said  Judy,  who  found 
herself  near. 

"  About  the  witch  ?  "  said  Esther. 

"  It's  —  mystery." 

«  Then  is  there  to  be  a  witch  ?  " 

«  Certainly." 

"  Who  will  it  be  ?  " 

"  Part  of  the  mystery,"  said  Judy.  "  Upon 
my  word  I  don't  know.  I  couldn't  find  out. 
And  I  tried,  too." 

«  What  is  she  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  That's  the  rest  of  the  mystery.  With 
out  being  a  witch  myself,  how  am  I  going  to 
tell  ?  " 

"  I  have  heard  sometimes  that  you  were" 
said  Esther. 

"Ah!  But  there  are  witches  and  witches," 
said  Judy;  "  black  and  white,  you  know,  and 
good  and  bad.  I'm  a  black  witch,  when  Tin 


TRADING.  19 

any.  It's  not  my  business  to  get  people  out 
of  trouble." 

"  I  shall  never  ask  you,"  said  Esther  shak 
ing  her  head.  "  But  where  is  the  witch  to  be  ? 
and  when  will  she  appear?  " 

"  She  won't  appear.  She  will  be  in  her 
den.  All  who  want  to  see  her  will  go  to  her 
den.  So  much  I  can  tell  you."  And  Judy 
ran  off  before  another  question  could  be 
asked. 

The  elder  ladies  came  in  now,  and  there 
was  a  fresh  stir.  Mrs.  Laval  introduced  Ma 
tilda  to  several  boys  and  girls  in  the  company 
before  many  minutes  had  gone ;  but  there  was 
time  for  little  else  beside  an  introduction,  for 
the  boys  were  ready  to  play ;  and  all  the  guests 
were  assembled  in  one  room  to  leave  the  other 
free  for  their  operations  and  give  a  good  view 
of  them.  In  that  room  the  lights  were  low 
ered  too,  to  make  the  scene  of  the  play  more 
brilliant  by  comparison. 

The  play  was  a  great  success.  Matilda 
laughed  for  very  delight,  as  well  as  at  the  fun 


20  TRADING. 

of  the  thing.  David,  who  personated  the 
poor  man  who  had  come  to  sell  a  piece  of 
ground,  talked  so  admirably  like  a  country- 
nan,  and  was  so  oddly  crochety  and  cross 
*nd  gruff  and  impossible  to  make  terms  with; 
and  then  Norton,  who  was  the  rich  man  he 
had  come  to  see  and  who  wanted  the  land, 
coaxed  him  so  skilfully,  and  ordered  all  sorts 
of  good  things  to  be  brought  to  him,  when  he 
found  he  had  come  a  good  way  and  was  hun 
gry;  and  the  imaginary  banquet  was  very 
funny,  David  making  inquiries  and  comments 
over  the  dishes  he  did  not  know  and  Norton 
supplying  him  with  others,  till  he  was  satis 
fied.  Then,  in  soothed  good  humour,  David 
was  easy  to  deal  with,  and  let  his  land  go 
a  bargain.  The  acting  was  really  extremely 
good  ;  both  the  boys  being  clever  and  without 
any  sort  of  embarrassment  or  any  even  shy 
affectation.  The  proverb  which  Matilda  and 
Judy  were  to  have  played  was  given  up  for 
want  of  time.  The  boys*  proverb  was 
guessed  by  one  of  the  elder  ladies  —  "  It  is  ill 


TRADING.  21 

talking  between  a  full  man  and  a  fasting." 
Matilda  was  very  glad,  for  her  part,  that  she 
and  Judy  were  let  off. 

A  hush  of  expectancy  fell  now  upon  the 
little  company.  It  was  time  for  the  tree  to 
be  displayed.  Even  talking  hushed,  while  all 
eyes  were  upon  the  folding  doors  leading  to 
the  last  drawing-room  to  be  thrown  open. 
Matilda  was  at  the  back  of  the  crowd,  but 
even  there  she  could  see  the  blaze  of  light 
beyond  as  soon  as  this  was  done ;  and  the 
whole  company  pressed  forward  and  peeped 
in.  Such  a  beautiful  sight  then,  her  eyes 
had  never  beheld.  The  tree  was  a  generous, 
large,  tall  young  fir,  set  in  a  huge  green  tub ; 
but  whereas  in  the  wood  where  it  grew  it  had 
green  branches,  with  fringy,  stiff,  prickly  leaves, 
now  its  branches  were  of  every  colour  and  as 
it  were  fringed  with  light.  From  the  lowest 
bough  to  the  topmost  shoot  it  was  a  cone  of 
brilliancy  and  a  pyramid  of  riches.  Lights 
glittered  from  every  twig,  and  among  the 
lights,  below  them  and  above  them,  near  the 


22  TRADING. 

stem  and  out  at  the  tips  of  the  bending 
boughs  and  covering  the  moss  which  covered 
the  tub,  were  trinkets  or  toys  or  articles  of 
wear  or  packages  done  up  in  white  or  col 
oured  paper  and  made  gay  with  coloured  rib 
bands.  So  bountiful  a  tree,  so  elegant  a  tree, 
one  so  rich  in  its  resources  of  pleasure,  per 
haps  no  eyes  there  had  ever  seen  ;  for  when 
Mrs.  Lloyd  did  anything  she  was  accustomed 
to  do  it  thoroughly ;  and  she  had  on  this  oc 
casion  two  backers.  One  burst  of  admira 
tion  from  the  whole  little  crowd  was  followed 
by  accents  of  delight  and  murmurs  of  expec 
tation. 

The  tree  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  large 
drawing-room,  and  the  bright  crowd  which 
formed  round  it  was  surely  a  pretty  sight.  A 
sight  for  the  elders  alone;  no  child  had  eyes 
for  anything  but  the  tree.  Eager  eyes; 
glad  eyes  ;  sparkling  and  glowing  with  delight 
and  expectation  ;  a  little,  soft,  rustling,  hus 
tling  crowd,  swaying  gently,  agitated,  moved 
here  and  ih«re,  to  and  fro,  but  all  fastened  to 


TRADING.  23 

that  brilliant  centre  of  a  Christmas  tree,  as 
much  as  ever  the  planets  to  their  centre.  At 
the  very  back  of  the  crowd,  as  she  was, 
Matilda  stepped  on  an  ottoman  to  see  better ; 
and  for  her  even  expectation  was  almost 
lost  in  bewildered  fascination.  In  truth  the 
Christmas  tree  was  a  beautiful  spectacle. 
The  fairy-like  beauty  was  what  Matilda 
thought  of  at  first ;  then  she  began  gradually 
to  notice  how  its  branches  were  laden  with 
other  things  besides  lights,  and  how  the  little 
company  was  all  on  tiptoe  with  eagerness. 
With  a  certain  faint  flutter  at  her  own  heart, 
Matilda  stood  on  her  perch  and  watched. 

Presently  a  tall  young  fellow,  one  of  the 
oldest  among  the  boys,  took  his  stand  by  the 
tree  with  a  long  gilt  rod  in  his  hand.  The 
crowd  fell  back  a  bit,  and  hushed  its  murmur 
and  rustle.  No  danger  of  anybody  seeing 
Matilda ;  not  an  eye  turned  her  way.  The 
lad  with  the  gilt  rod,  who  also  was  decorated 
with  a  favour  of  red  and  white  ribbands,  now 
lifted  down  from  the  tree  one  of  its  many 


24  TRADING. 

packages,  looked  close  at  it,  and  called  aloud 
the  name  written  thereon.  A  name  Matilda 
did  not  know.  The  crowd  stirred  in  out 
place  and  a  little  figure  came  forward  and 
took  the  package.  Matilda  wanted  to  know 
what  it  was,  very  much ;  but  the  little  girl 
herself  made  no  haste  to  discover.  A  slight 
private  examination  she  gave,  and  with  a 
smile  and  a  blush  clasped  her  little  hand 
upon  the  package  and  looked  to  see  what 
would  be  next.  The  play  went  on  after  this 
fashion  ;  the  presiding  gilt  rod  was  quick  in 
its  operations,  as  indeed  it  had  need  to  be ; 
names  were  called  out  in  rapid  succession; 
and  presently  the  whole  circle  was  astir,  with 
coming  and  going,  explanations  and  questions 
and  whispers  of  delight,  now  and  then  a 
spring  or  a  dance  of  exultation  ;  and  still  the 
gilt  rod  went  on  hooking  down  things  from 
the  tree  and  signalling  the  owners  to  come 
and  take  possession. 

"  Mrs.  Laval!  —  from  Matilda.     I  suppose 
Mrs.  Laval  knows  who  Matilda  is  ?  "  —  said 


TRADING.  25 

the  master  of  ceremonies.  A  new  thrill  went 
all  through  the  distant  possessor  of  that 
name.  "  That's  my  obelisk  !  "  she  thought. 
"I  wonder  if  she  will  like  it?  Yes,  she 
knows  Matilda,  a  little." 

"  Norton  Laval !  —  from  his  sister.  I  didn't 
know  that  Norton  had  a  sister." 

"  The  things  you  don't  know  are  always 
more  than  the  things  you  do  know,  Edward 
Foster,"  said  Norton  coming  forward  to  re 
ceive  his  watch-guard. 

"  *  You  '  meaning  —  whom  ?  "  said  gilt  rod, 
hooking  down  another  ribband-looped  parcel. 
"By  virtue  of  my  office  I  know  so  many 
things  just  now,  that  I  grow  conceited,  and 
am  surprised  to  find  myself  ignorant  any 
where.  Matilda  Laval !  —  from  her  mother." 

With  a  great  leap  of  her  heart,  Matilda 
jumped  down  from  her  ottoman  and  made 
her  way  as  she  could  through  the  throng. 
The  tall  boy  with  the  gilt  rod  presented  to 
her  a  small  square  packet,  sealed  and  tied. 
Matilda's  fingers  clasped  upon  it  as  she 


26  TRADING. 

stepped  back ;  and  then  for  the  first  time  that 
evening  she  found  Judy  at  her  side.  Perhaps 
Judy  would  have  spoken,  if  the  next  call  had 
not  been, 

"  Matilda  Laval !  —  from  Mrs.  Bartholo 
mew." 

Flushing  and  trembling,  Matilda  stepped 
forward  again  and  received  a  second  little 
packet,  much  like  the  former.  Then  Judy 
herself  was  called  ;  everybody  by  this  time 
was  getting  his  hands  full ;  and  still  the 
Christmas  tree  blazed  on  as  brightly  as  ever. 

Presently  Matilda  got  a  third  present ;  this 
was  from  David ;  much  larger.  She  was 
very  much  astonished ;  for  without  opening 
she  could  guess  that  it  was  something  valu 
able  ;  it  was  hard  and  square  and  heavy.  Of 
all  there,  not  a  child  was  in  such  private 
ecstasies  as  she.  Her  flushed  cheeks  told  it; 
otherwise  she  was  quite  undemonstrative. 
Though  I  say  wrong;  for  eyes  and  lips  were 
abundantly  expressive  of  tremulous  joy. 

"  Is  that  my  present  ?  "  said  Judy,  by  her  side 


TRADING.  27 

again.  "  No,  it  is  David's.  Do  you  know 
what  it  is?" 

"  No,"  Matilda  whispered. 

«  I  don't  either.     Why  don't  you  look  ?  " 

"  I  will  look  by  and  by." 

"  Nonsense  !  "  said  Judy ;  but  Matilda  was 
called  off  again  to  take  what  Judy  had  pre 
pared  for  her. 

"  That  isn't  much,"  said  that  young  lady, 
when  Matilda  fell  back  to  her  former  place ; 
"it's  only  bonbons.  What  has  aunt  Zara 
given  you  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  yet,  Judy." 

"  O  look.  And  mamma.  Mamma  wouldn't 
tell  me.  Those  are  their  gifts  in  your  hand 
there,  aren't  they  ?  Look,  and  see.  I  can 
guess,"  said  Judy  peering  round  Matilda  to 
see  the  packets. 

"  No,  you  can't,"  said  Norton  at  the  other 
side.  He  was  fastening  his  guard-chain  in 
its  place.  "  You  don't  know,  and  she  don't 
know.  I  like  people  who  can  keep  cool,  and 
not  dash  their  heads  under  water  the  first 
thing." 


28  TRADING. 

«  Stuff!  "  said  Judy.  «  I  want  her  to  get  her 
head  above  water;  she  don't  see  any  tiling 
now,  nor  know  anything." 

"  Her  head's  all  right,"  said  Norton  com 
posedly.  "  Knowledge'll  come  in  time.  I 
guess  there's  a  good  deal  of  it  to  come,  too." 

"  What  has  David  got,  Norton  ?  " 

"  Loads  of  books,"  said  Norton.  "  And  a 
rifle." 

"  A  rifle!  "  screamed  Judy. 

"  And  a  dressing-case.  And  a  dressing- 
gown.  And  a  riding-whip.  And  a  watch- 
chain/' 

"  And  what  have  you  got,  Norton  ?  "  Ma 
tilda  asked. 

"  Just  what  I  wanted,"  said  Norton,  with  a 
smile  of  confidence  and  secret  good  fellowship 
which  was  most  pleasant  to  Matilda ;  it  made 
her  feel  not  quite  so  much  alone  in  that 
crowd.  "  You  shall  see,"  he  went  on.  a  Hallo ! 
you're  called.  Give  me  some  of  your  traps 
to  hold  for  you,  Pink ;  you  have  not  got  a 
hand  to  take  anything  more." 


TRADING.  29 

So  Matilda  gave  him  her  bonbons  and  box, 
if  it  were  a  box,  to  hold,  while  she  went  for 
ward  again.  This  present  was  from  Norton, 
and  of  itself  filled  her  arms.  Wrapped  up  in 
papers  as  it  was,  she  could  not  know  more  of 
it  than  that.  She  came  back  to  Norton  with 
high-coloured  cheeks  and  eyes  very  bright  in 
deed. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  said  Judy.  «  What  has 
Norton  given  you?  It's  big  enough.  Pshaw! 
I  know;  it's  a  desk." 

"  A  desk !  "  exclaimed  Matilda  in  tones  of 
delight. 

"  Keep  your  own  counsel,  Judy,"  said  Nor 
ton  coolly.  "  You  have  no  idea  of  keeping 
other  people's." 

"  Norton,"  said  Esther  coming  up  to  them, 
«  who  is  the  witch  ?  " 

"  Can't  tell,  even  if  I  know,"  said  Norton. 
I  keep  other  people's  counsel." 

"  But  where  are  we  to  see  her?  " 

"  In  her  den,  of  course." 

"Where's  that?" 


30  TRADING. 

"  You  will  know  when  the  time  comes." 

"  Then  she  won't  come  in  here  among  us 
all?" 

"  I  reckon  not,"  said  Norton.  "  She  '11  see 
only  one  at  a  time,  I  hear." 

"  What  for  ?  "  said  Esther. 

«  Ah,  what  for !  "  echoed  Norton.  «  7  don't 
know,  I  can  tell  you.  And  what's  more,  I 
don't  know  yet  whose  notion  it  is.  Now, 
Pink,  I  propose  we  go  upstairs  and  put  these 
things  away.  Supper  will  be  in  a  few  min 
utes,  and  then  what  will  you  do  with  your 
hands  full?  Come!" 

And  away  he  and  Matilda  went,  slipping 
out  of  the  room  as  quietly  as  they  could,  and 
then  running  upstairs,  till  they  found  a  quiet 
corner  and  breathing  place  in  Matilda's  room. 

"Now,  Pink,  don't  you  want  to  look?" 
said  Norton  turning  up  the  gas.  He  had  his 
own  curiosity  too,  it  seems.  But  he  did  not 
interfere  with  her;  he  looked  on,  smiling  and 
superior,  while  Matilda's  trembling  lingers 
pulled  off  the,  papers,  from  his  paeka-e  iirst. 


TRADING.  31 

Judy  had  spoken  truly;  it  was  an  elegant 
little  desk,  all  fitted  and  filled.  Matilda's 
heart,  Norton  could  see,  was  quite  full  with 
that. 

"  Come ! "  said  he  gayly,  "  let  us  see 
Davie's  choice.  I  don't  know  what  it  is, 
Davie  don't  tell  all  his  mind." 

And  he  stopped,  for  Matilda  uttered  a  little 
scream  of  pleasure.  David's  choice  had  been 
a  work-box.  It  was  of  pretty  fancy  wood^ 
charmingly  lined  and  fitted  up. 

"Pretty  well  for  David!"  said  Norton 
"  He  thinks  you  know  what  to  do  with  a  work 
box,  and  reason  too.  Good  for  him.  But 
now,  Pink,  guess  what  this  is ! " 

And  Norton  possessed  himself  of  the  little 
parcel  which  bore  his  mother's  handwriting 
and  held  it  up  before  Matilda. 

"  I  can't  guess." 

"  Try.  What  would  you  like,  Pink  ? 
What  would  you  like  better  than  anything 
else  ?  Think." 

"  Oh   Norton ! "  said  Matilda  with  chang- 


32  TRADING. 

ing  colour,  "I  don't  know;  I  am  afraid  to 
guess.  It's  something  small ;  could  it  be  a 
locket  with  her  hair?" 

Norton  with  a  delighted  face  put  his  hand 
with  the  parcel  close  to  Matilda's  ear,  with 
the  other  hand  forbidding  her  to  touch  it. 
'<  Listen  ! "  he  said.  Matilda  listened,  and 
absolutely  grew  pale  with  intensity  of  excite 
ment. 

"  F  hear  something,  Norton ! "  she  said 
seizing  the  package. 

"  Ah,  you  do!"  said  Norton.  "  Now  you 
know  ?  Yes,  just  look  at  it.  Isn't  it  a 
beauty  ?  I  was  with  mamma  when  she  got 
it.  There's  no  mistake  in  that,  Pink;  it's  a 
splendid  watch,  Bars  and  Bullion  said; — I 
mean,  the  man  at  Bars  and  Bullion's,  and  I 
believe  it  was  Bullion  himself.  Do  you  like 
it?  Now  Pink,  we  must  not  stay  a  minute 
longer;  supper  will  be  on  hand,  and  you 
want  some,  don't  you.  Come !  Put  these 
away,  and  come." 

Matilda  could  do  it,  even  without  looking 


TRADING.  33 

at  her  bonbons  or  Mrs.  Bartholomew's  pres 
ent,  and  with  only  a  glance  at  her  watch. 
She  locked  up  her  treasures  and  went  down 
with  Norton  ;  a  happy  child,  if  there  was 
one  in  the  city  that  night. 


CHAPTER   II. 

O UPPER  was  just  served  when  they  got 
downstairs.  It  was  another  variety  of 
this  wonderful  evening.  The  dining-room 
long  table  was  so  beautiful  with  lights,  fruits, 
greens,  and  confections,  with  setting  of  plate 
and  glass,  that  to  Matilda  it  was  almost  as 
much  of  a  sight  as  the  Christmas  tree  had 
been.  But  the  others  were  accustomed  to 
this  sort  of  thing,  and  fell  to  tasting,  with 
very  little  rapture  about  the  seeing.  What  a 
buzz  the  room  was  in,  to  be  sure !  Tongues 
were  fairly  unloosed  over  oysters  and  sand 
wiches ;  and  all  the  glory  of  the  Christmas 
tree  was  to  talk  about,  with  comparisons  of 
presents,  plans,  and  prospects.  Matilda  looked 
on,  half  bewildered,  but  so  very  happy  that 
it  hardly  occurred  to  her  to  remember  that 


TRADING.  35 

she  might  like  something  to  eat  too.  Every 
body  was  attending  upon  the  wants  of  the 
guests,  though  certainly  Matilda  did  no 
tice  that  Judy  had  a  plateful  of  something, 
and  was  eating  as  busily  as  she  was  talking. 
Doing  neither,  for  she  knew  nobody  to  talk 
to,  Matilda  waited,  and  thought  of  her  watch, 
in  a  trance  of  rapture. 

"  Why,  my  dear,  is  nobody  attending  to 
you  ? "  she  heard  the  voice  of  Mrs.  Lloyd 
say  at  last.  "  Have  you  had  nothing  all  this 
while  ?  " 

"  No,  ma'am  —  they  are  all  so  busy." 

But  David  came  up  at  the  minute,  and 
Matilda  had  no  longer  anything  to  complain 
of.  He  served  her  very  kindly,  and  Matilda 
found  that  she  was  very  hungry.  She  got  a 
chance,  however,  to  thank  David  for  her  work- 
box. 

"  I  am  sure  you  deserve  it,"  he  said* 
"  What  did  Judy  give  you  ?  " 

He  looked  very  little  pleased,  Matilda 
thought,  when  she  told  him.  But  he  only 


36  TRADING. 

helped  her  carefully  to  everything  she  would 
have,  and  said  no  more  about  it. 

A  third  wonder  to  Matilda  that  evening 
was  the  style  and  amount  of  eating  that 
went  on.  The  ices  were  in  beautiful  fruit 
forms  ;  and  she  thought  when  she  had  demol 
ished  one  of  them  she  had  done  enough, 
especially  as  caramel,  and  candied  fruits,  and 
other  confections  were  awaiting  her  atten 
tion.  But  the  circulation  of  these  little  ices 
went  on  at  a  rate  that  proved  Matilda's  mod 
eration  to  be  shared  by  few,  and  she  heard 
one  little  lady  say  to  another,  herself  with  a 
plateful,  "  Is  that  your  third  or  your  fourth?" 
Slowly  munching  candied  grapes,  Matilda 
looked  on  and  marvelled.  Presently  Norton 
came  to  see  if  she  wanted  anything,  and 
then  Esther  joined  them,  and  the  talk  was  of 
the  witch  again. 

"  We  are  going  to  see  her  now,"  said  Nor 
ton.  "  Just  as  soon  as  we  have  done  with 
the  table." 

"  What's  it  all  for  ?  "  inquired  Esther. 


TRADING.  37 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Norton,  shaking  his 
head.  "  Some  crotchet  of  somebody's.  I 
don't  know  anything  about  it.  Only  every 
body  is  invited  to  go  and  see  the  witch  ;  and 
the  witch's  den  is  in  the  little  reception  room 
on  the  other  side  of  the  hall ;  and  we  must 
go  in  one  by  one  ;  and  we  must  answer  every 
question  we  are  asked,  or  we  shall  get  no 
good  of  our  interview.  So  much  I  am 
informed  of." 

"  What  good  shall  we  get  if  we  do  answer 
all  the  questions  ?  "  Esther  asked. 

"  If  I  was  a  wizard,  maybe  I  could  tell 
you,  Esther.  You  should  ask  David.  There 
used  to  be  witches  and  wizards,  too,  among 
his  people." 

"  They  were  forbidden,"  said  David  gravely. 

"  But  they  were  there,  all  the  same,"  said 
Norton. 

"  Not  all  the  same,"  said  David  ;  "  for  it 
was  death  by  the  law  ;  and  no  good  ever 
came  of  them,  and  nobody  good  ever  went  to 
them." 


38  TRADING. 

"  O  David,"  said  Matilda  timidly,  but  the 
occasion  was  too  tempting  to  be  lost,  —  "  do 
you  know  what  they  did?  Did  they  only 
play  tricks?  or  was  there  anything  real 
about  it?" 

Perhaps  David  took  a  different  view  of  the 
occasion ;  for  after  one  earnest  look  into 
Matilda's  face,  as  if  he  would  answer  her,  he 
turned  it  off  with  lightly  saying  that  the 
witches  were  real,  for  Saul  had  them  all  put, 
to  death  that  he  could  find  ;  and  then  saying 
that  he  would  go  and  look  after  this  particu 
lar  witch.  And  presently  he  came  back  and 
proclaimed  that  she  was  ready  to  receive 
visitors. 

"  Who  are  to  go,  Davie  ?  Who  are  to  go 
to  see  her?"  were  the  inquiries  huddled  one 
upon  another. 

"  Everybody,"  said  David.  "  One  at  a 
time." 

"  What  are  we  to  do  ?  What  are  we  to 
say  ?  " 

"  Answer  questions." 


TRADING.  39 

"  The  witch's  questions  ?  " 

"  Certainly/' 

"  Why  must  we  answer  her  questions  ? 
and  what  will  she  ask  us  about  ? " 

"  Really  you  must  judge  for  yourselves, 
about  the  one  thing ;  and  find  out  for  your 
selves,  about  the  other.  I  cannot  tell  you." 

"  Will  you  answer  her  questions  ?  '; 

"  Perhaps." 

"  O  come  along !  "  was  the  cry  then ;  "  you 
can't  get  anything  out  of  him.  Who  will 
go  first?" 

Caramel  and  ices  had  done  their  utmost, 
and  now  the  witch  became  the  absorbing 
interest.  And  as  those  who  came  back  from 
the  witch's  den,  it  was  found,  would  tell 
nothing  of  what  had  transpired  there,  the 
interest  was  kept  up  at  white  heat.  First 
one  went,  and  then  another.  Of  course  the 
young  people  of  the  household  were  the  last. 

The  witch's  den,  when  Norton  entered  it, 
was  a  place  he  did  not  recognize ;  though  in 
reality  it  was  manufactured  out  of  the  little 


40  TRADING. 

corner  reception  room.  Dark  drapery  enclosed 
and  mystified  the  space  into  which  he  was 
admitted  ;  the  light  came  from  he  could  not 
see  where,  ;nid  was  dim  enough  too;  and  the 
witch  was  not  to  be  seen.  Nor,  distinctly, 
anything  else.  Norton  took  his  stand  as  he 
had  been  directed  in  front  of  a  dark  curtain 
and  waited.  The  first  question  demanded 
his  name,  and  when  that  had  been  answered 
the  voice  went  on,  — 

"  What  do  you  want  of  the  witch  ?  " 

"  That  depends  on  what  she  can  do,"  said 
Norton. 

"  Power  unlimited.'' 

"  Then  I  wish  she  would  cast  a  spell  upon 
Mrs.  Lloyd." 

«  To  what  effect  .' " 

"  That  she  woul  1  let  me  have  the  little 
corner  attic  room  for  a  greenhoiiM  ." 

"  How  would  you  warm  it?" 

"  It  wouldn't  want  much  more  warming 
than  it  has  now.  A  gas  stove  would  do,  I 
think." 


TRADING.  41 

"  You  may  go.  You  shall  hear  from  me 
in  the  course  of  the  week." 

Norton  went  out  in  high  glee.  "  She's  a 
brick,  that  witch ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Go 
along,  Judy  —  and  make  haste  ;  people  are 
taking  leave  now.  I  don't  know  whose  the 
voice  is,  though,''  he  went  on  ;  "I  couldn't 
make  it  out.  I  guess  "  —  But  Norton  stopped ; 
and  Judy  went  in. 

"  Are  you  in  want  of  anything,  Judy  Bar 
tholomew  ?  "  the  unseen  witch  asked. 

"  I  haven't  got  all  I  want,"  said  Judy  ;  "  if 
you  mean  that." 

"  State  what  is  needed." 

"  There  are  a  great  many  things,"  said 
Judy  unblushingly  ;  "  but  the  two  things  I 
wish  for  most  particularly  are  —  to  give  a 
ball,  for  one ;  and  to  have  a  diamond  ring, 
for  the  other." 

"  Short  of  these  two  things,  all  your  wishes 
are  satisfied  then  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Judy  hesitatingly,  —  "I  didn't 
say  that.  I  want  lots  of  things  besides  ;  but 
those  two  most." 


42  TRADING. 

"  You  may  go.  The  witch  always  wants 
time.  Have  you  any  debts  to  pay  ?  of  money 
>r  any  other  sort  ?  " 

"  No  indeed,"  said  Judy  decidedly. 

"  Is  there  anybody  to  whom  you  would 
like  to  do  a  kindness  ? " 

"  Not  that  I  know  of." 

"  You  may  go.  Your  wants  shall  be  con 
sidered." 

Judy  came  out  triumphant.  She  would  have 
had  her  brother  go  next,  but  he  insisted  that 
Matilda  should  precede  him.  So  Matilda 
went  into  the  darkened,  mysterious  boudoir 
of  the  receptions. 

"  Who  is  this  ?  "  said  the  voice. 

And  a  gentle  answer  came;  not  like  Judy's 
proclaiming  of  herself,  yet  clear  and  frank  too. 

"  Matilda  Laval,  what  would  you  like  of 
all  things,  if  you  could  have  it  ?  " 

Matilda  hesitated.  "  There  are  so  many 
things  "  —  she  began,  —  "  it  isn't  very 
easy  " — 

"  So  many  things  you  would  like  ?  " 


TRADING.  43 

«  Yes,  ma'am.  Not  for  myself"  she  added, 
in  a  kind  of  horror  at  being  supposed  to 
entertain  such  wishes  under  the  flood  of  good 
things  that  had  come  upon  her  that  evening. 

"  Well,  go  on.  It  is  for  yourself  in  one 
way.  Say  what,  of  all  you  can  think  of, 
would  give  you  most  pleasure." 

Matilda's  hands  came  together  with  a  cer 
tain  pang  of  hope,  as  she  answered. 

"  If  I  could  make  somebody  comfortable 
that  I  know  of ;  —  a  poor,  good  girl,  who  is 
not  comfortable  at  all." 

'•  One  of  your  sisters  ?  " 

"  O  no,  ma'am ;  no  relation." 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  her,  and  how 
could  you  make  her  comfortable  ?  " 

"She  is  a  very  poor  girl,"  said  Matilda,  so 
eager  that  she  did  not  know  what  to  bring 
out  first ; —  "  she  lives  in  a  cellar  room  with  a 
wet  mud  floor,  and  no  bed  to  sleep  on  that  is 
like  a  bed  ;  of  course  she  cannot  be  very  clean, 
nor  have  any  comfort  at  all ;  and  I  should 
like  to  make  them  comfortable." 


44  TRADING. 

"Who  is  she?" 

"  A  very  poor  girl,  that  goes  to  Sunday 
school.  But  she  is  very  gjood." 

"  Does  she  live  there  alone?  " 

"  O  there  are  three  of  them ;  her  mother 
and  little  brother." 

"  Then  why  does  not  the  mother  earn 
money  and  live  better  ?  " 

"  She  works  for  it ;  she  sews  ;  but  the  peo 
ple  give  her  almost  nothing  for  her  work ;  and 
Sarah  sweeps  a  crossing." 

"  How  did  you  come  to  know  all  this?" 

"  I  saw  Sarah  in  Sunday  school ;  and  I 
heard  about  her  from  my  teacher,  and  he 
shewed  me  the  place  where  she  lives.  He 
knows  she  is  good." 

"  And  what  do  you  want  to  do  for  her  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  get  her  out  of  that  place,  and 
into  a  decent  room,  and  give  her  a  comforta 
ble  bed." 

"  What  is  her  name?" 

"Sarah  Staples." 

"  How  long  would  she  keep  decent,  do  you 
think  ?  " 


TRADING.  45 

"  Always,"  said  Matilda  confidently.  "  I  am 
sure  she  would  be  just  as  nice  as  she  possi 
bly  could.  Where  she  is,  she  has  no  chance." 

"  Well,  go  ;  the  witch  will  look  into  it." 

Matilda  went  out,  hardly  knowing  what  to 
think,  or  whether  she  might  hope  anything 
from  this  very  doubtful  interview.  Just  as 
she  reached  the  door,  she  was  called  back. 

"  Have  you  no  wishes  for  yourself,  little 
girl?" 

"  No,  ma'am  ;  thank  you." 

"  Is  there  nothing  in  the  world  you  would 
like  ?  " 

"  I  suppose,  a  great  many  things,"  said 
Matilda  ;  "  but  I  have  got  so  many  now,  I  am 
afraid  to  wish." 

«  Why  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  I  ought  to  wish  for  anything 
more,  for  myself." 

"  You  are  the  first  person  I  ever  sawvyoung 
or  old,  who  put  an  i  ought '  before  his  wishes. 
Most  people  put  it  after  them.  Well,  as  a 
reward,  tell  the  one  more  thing,  for  your- 


46  TRADING. 

self,  that  you  would  wish  for  if  you  could 
have  it." 

Matilda  thought,  and  hesitated.  She  did 
not  at  all  like  to  tell  her  thought.  At  last  the 
witch  urged  her  to  speak  out  and  be  quick. 

"If  I  were  to  choose  —  and  wish  for  any 
thing  more,"  Matilda  said  slowly,  — <k  which  I 
don't;  but  if  I  did  wish  for  anything  more,  it 
would  be  for  a  beauitful  picture  I  have  seen." 

"  Aha  !  "  said  the  witch.  "  Where  did  you 
see  it?" 

"  At  Goupil's." 

"  And  what  picture  \vas  it  ?  " 

"  It  was  the  picture  of  the  woman  search 
ing  for  the  lost  piece  of  money." 

"  Well.  You  are  an  odd  child.  You  may 
go;  and  if  there  is  anybody  else  to  come,  let 
them  make  haste.  I  am  as  tired  as  if  I  were 
not  a  witch." 

A  minute  after  David  entered  the  den. 

"I  know  who  you  are,"  said  the  witch. 
"  Speak  your  heart's  desire ;  and  in  one  word, 
if  you  can." 


TRADING.  47 

"  In  one  word,  Hebrew." 

«  What  of  Hebrew  ?  " 

"  To  learn  it." 

u  Learning  is  a  thing  I  cannot  do  for  you." 

"  No,  but  the  means." 

«  What  means  ?  " 

"  Permission,  time,  books,  and  a  teacher." 

"  You  are  another  odd  one.  Is  that  your 
dearest  heart's  wish,  David  Bartholomew  ?  " 

"  I  think  it  is  the  greatest  I  have,  at  pres 
ent." 

"  Well.     Leave  it  with  me  and  go." 

"  Hallo,  David !  "  exclaimed  Norton  as  he 
came  out  into  the  hall ;  "  the  people  are  all 
gone  ;  the  last  one  just  had  the  door  shut 
behind  him." 

"  It's  time,"  said  David. 

"  Takes  more  than  a  party  to  shake  you  out 
of  your  gravity,"  said  Norton.  "Time?  why 
.yes,  it's  past  twelve." 

"  Sunday  !  "  exclaimed  Matilda. 

The  other  three,  they  were  together  in  the 
hall,  all  burst  out  laughing. 


48  TRADING. 

"  It's  Sunday  ;  and  Christmas  is  over,  and 
the  Christmas  tree,"  said  Norton.  "  But  the 
fruits  keep.  Extraordinary  tree!  Well, 
Pink;  we  have  got  to  go  and  sleep  now. 
Do  you  want  to  take  another  look  at  the 
tree?" 

They  all  went  into  the  drawing-room  which 
had  been  the  scene  of  so  much  festivity.  The 
tree  stood  there  yet  in  its  tub,  with  ribbands 
and  gilt  work  hanging  to  it;  but  the  lights 
were  burnt  out,  and  the  splendour  was  gone, 
and  its  riches  were  scattered.  It  was  a  thing 
of  the  past  already. 

"  The  fruits  will  keep,"  Norton  repeated. 
"  Did  you  find  out  who  the  witch  was, 
David?" 

"  I  thought  I  knew." 

"  I  knew  I  knew,"  said  Norton ;  "  but  she 
had  somebody  else  to  speak  for  her.  What  a 
jolly  witch !  We  shall  hear  from  her  some  of 
these  days.  Well,  good  night." 

Kisses  and  thanks  and  good  nights  had  to 
be  exchanged  with  the  older  members  of  the 


TRADING.  49 

family;  and  Sunday  was  well  begun  when 
at  last  Matilda  shut  her  door  behind  her.  She 
had  to  take  one  look  at  her  watch ;  it  was  no 
doubt  a  little  beauty ;  and  to  Matilda's  vision 
it  was  a  very  fruit  and  embodiment  of  fairy 
land.  Beyond  even  her  wildest  dreams  of 
what  was  possible  from  a  Christmas  tree. 
Her  own  watch  !  She  could  scarcely  believe 
it,  even  with  the  watch  lying  securely  in  her 
hand.  And  with  the  delicate  minute  hand 
pointing  but  fifteen  minutes  off  from  one 
o'clock,  she  still  stood  gazing  and  rapt.  Then 
as  the  hand  went  on  to  fourteen  minutes,  and 
thirteen,  Matilda  started  and  laid  it  down. 
To  have  her  own  watch  telling  her  it  was 
time  to  go  to  bed!  But  she  must  just  look 
at  Mrs.  Bartholomew's  present. 

Hurriedly  she  untied  the  box  and  pulled  off 
the  silver  paper.  And  within  the  silver  paper 
inside  the  box  lay  a  dainty  gold  bracelet. 

It  was  extremely  pretty,  and  had  cost 
a  great  deal,  no  doubt.  It  was  very  kind 
of  Judy's  mother  to  give  it.  Nevertheless 


5° 


TRADING. 


round  the  bracelet  crept  a  sort  of  cobweb  of 
thoughts  and  feelings  which  were  not  all  of 
pleasure.  It  was  too  late  to  examine  into 
them  now.  Matilda  wrapped  up  the  trinket 
again  and  put  it  away,  and  went  to  bed  ;  as 
happy  as  it  seemed  possible  for  her  to  be. 

Sunday  morning  was  high  and  bright,  it 
must  be  confessed,  when  she  awoke.  Bells 
were  ringing,  the  eight  o'clock  bells  she 
thought  they  must  be;  but  indeed  they  were 
the  bells  for  Sunday  school.  Matilda  did  not 
guess  that,  and  so  was  not  in  an  immediate 
hurry  to  get  out  of  bed  and  end  the  luxurious 
rest  which  the  excitements  and  late  hours  of 
the  day  before  had  made  so  welcome  and  so 
long.  She  lay  still,  shut  her  eyes,  and  opened 
them  upon  the  morning  brightness,  with  a 
thrilling  and  bounding  rapture  of  recollection 
that  there  was  a  little  gold  watch  in  her 
drawer  which  owned  her  for  its  mistress  and 
would  be  her  inseparable  friend  and  servant 

and  adornment  —  thenceforward.     Matilda 

lay    still    for   very   happiness.      Turning    her 


TRADING.  51 

head  a  little  towards  the  window  the  next 
time  she  opened  her  eyes,  it  seemed  to  her 
that  she  saw  a  picture  standing  there  against 
the  wall.  Matilda  shut  her  eyes  and  told 
herself  that  she  was  not  dreaming  and  had  no 
business  to  see  visions  in  broad  daylight.  "  I 
have  been  thinking  so  much  about  that  pict 
ure  I  suppose,  and  talking  about  it  to  the 
witch,  that  is  the  reason  I  thought  I  saw  it. 
But  what  did  I  see,  that  looked  like  a 
picture?"  She  opened  her  eyes  now  and 
raised  herself  on  her  elbow  to  look,  for 
this  was  curious.  More  curious  still !  there, 
against  the  wall,  in  plain  view,  in  the  broad 
light,  stood  the  beautiful  engraving  that  had 
so  captivated  her. 

"  It's  there !  "  was  Matilda's  thought.  "The 
very  thing  !  But  what  is  it  there  for  ?  " 

A  half-formed  suspicion  made  her  jump  out 
of  bed  very  spryly  and  run  to  the  picture. 
There  was  a  little  ticket  stuck  in  between  the 
glass  and  the  frame. 

u  for  Matilda  Laval — with  Mrs.  Lloyd's 
thanks  and  approbation." 


52  TRADING. 

Matilda  looked,  rushed  back  into  bed, 
and  arranged  herself  so  that  she  could  com 
fortably  see  the  picture,  while  she  thought, 
about  it. 

"  Mrs.  Lloyd's  thanks  "  —  thanks  for  what  ? 
She  must  know,  she  must  know,  about  the 
shawl.  Yes,  she  must ;  I  guess  mamma  told 
her.  And  it  is  mine!  it  is  mine!  There  she 
is,  that  beautiful  thing,  the  woman  hunting 
for  her  lost  money ;  the  odd  little  lamp,  Jind 
all.  It  is  mine  to  keep.  Certainly  I  ought 
not  to  wish  for  another  thing  for  a  whole 
year  to  come;  I  have  got  so  much.  This 
and  my  watch.  O  delightful !  —  I  ought  to  be 
good!  How  lovely  the  light  from  that  little- 
old  lamp  is.  And  that  is  the.  way  Jesus  looks 

for  us for  people  who  are  lost;   lost  in  the 

dark.     So  he  looked  for  me,  and  found  me 
And  there  are  such   a  great  many  more  lost, 
that  are  not  found  yet.     Lost  in  the   dark  !- 
And  if  He  cares  for  them  so,  he  must  wish 
his  servants  to  care  too,  and  to  look  for  them, 
and   save  all  they   can.     Tlu-n    that  woman 


TRADING.  53 

with  her  pretty  lamp  just  shews  me  what  I 
ought  to  do  and  how  I  ought  to  feel."  — 

Musing  on  in  this  way,  very  happy,  leaning 
on  her  elbow  to  look  at  the  picture,  too  warm 
in  the  soft  air  of  her  room  to  be  disturbed  by 
the  necessity  of  getting  dressed,  Matilda  no 
ticed  at  last  that  the  bells  had  stopped  ring 
ing.  It  was  eight  o'clock  past,  she  thought, 
and  time  to  get  up  ;  but  she  would  look  at 
her  watch  to  see  how  eight  o'clock  looked  on 
its  pretty  white  face.  Lo,  it  was  nine  !  Sun 
day  schools  already  beginning  their  services, 
while  she  stood  there  in  her  night-gown ; 
dressing  and  breakfast  yet  to  be  gone  through. 
But  the  afternoon  was  the  time  for  school  in 
the  place  where  Matilda  went;  so  all  was  not 
lost. 

And  so  ended  the  doings  of  that  Christmas 
night. 


CHAPTER   III. 

HPHE  experience  of  the  morning  certainly 
was  rather  scattering  in  its  tendency, 
as  far  as  any  sober  thought  or  work  was  con 
cerned.  The  young  people  were  brimful  of  life 
and  fun  and  excitement ;  and  it  was  not  possi 
ble  for  Matilda  to  escape  the  infection.  Never 
theless  after  lunch  she  had  firmness  enough  left 
to  put  on  her  coat  and  hat  and  trudge  off  to 
Sunday  school  by  herself.  Norton  said  he 
had  not  "  slept  out,"  and  would  not  go. 
Matilda  went,  with  her  little  wateh  safe  in  her 
breast 

Getting  out  into  the  cold  air  and  setting  her 
feet  upon  the  snowy  streets,  had  somewhat 
the  effect  of  breaking  a  spell.  For  a  while, 
that  seemed  now  a  very  long  while,  Matilda 
had  been  in  a  whirl  of  expectation  and  pleas- 


TRADING.  55 

ure  and  in  a  kind  of  dream  of  enchantment; 
nothing  but  soft  luxury  and  visions  of  delight 
and  one  thing  after  another  to  make  the  child 
think  she  had  got  into  very  fairyland.  But 
the  streets  outside  were  not  fairyland ;  and 
the  sharp  air  pinched  her  cheek  with  a  grip 
which  was  not  tender  or  flattering  at  all. 
The  sense  began  to  come  back  to  Matilda  that 
everybody  was  not  having  such  rose-coloured 
dreams  as  she,  nor  living  in  summer-heated 
rooms.  Nay,  she  saw  children  that  were  ill 
dressed,  on  their  way  like  her;  some  who 
were  insufficiently  dressed;  a  multitude  who 
were  not  nicely  dressed ;  the  contrast  was 
very  unpleasant,  and  a  certain  feeling  of  un 
easiness  and  of  responsibility  and  of  desire  to 
make  other  people  comfortable  crept  over  her 
anew.  Then  she  remembered  that  she  could 
not  reach  many,  she  could  not  do  much ;  and 
she  came  into  school  and  took  her  seat  at  last 
with  a  concentrated  desire  to  do  at  least  some 
thing  effectual  towards  rescuing  Sarah  Staples 
from  her  miserable  circumstances.  After  the 


5  TRADING. 

lesson  was  done  and  the  scholars  were  dis 
missed,  Matilda  asked  Mr.  Wharncliffe  if  she 
could  speak  to  him? 

"  Is  it  a  minute's  work  ?  or  several  minutes  ?  " 
he  inquired. 

"  I  don't  know,  sir;  I  think, several  minutes." 

"  Then  wait  a  minute,  and  we  will  walk 
home  together." 

Matilda  liked  that,  and  presently  in  the 
clear  late  light  of  the  waning  winter  afternoon, 
she  and  her  teacher  sallied  forth  into  the  street 
hand  in  hand. 

"  Now  what  is  it  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  About  Sarah,  Mr.  Wharncliffe." 

"Well?     What  about  her  ?" 

"  I  have  been  thinking  a  great  deal,  Mr. 
Wharncliffe,  how  to  manage  it;  because  I  had 
not  a  great  deal  of  money  myself,  and  I  did 
not  know  whether  I  could  get  help  or  no ; 
but  now  I  think  I  shall  have  some  help ;  and 
I  wanted  to  consult  you  to  know  what  I  had 
best  do." 

«  What  do  you  want  to  do  ?  " 


TRADING.  57 

"  First,  I  want  to  get  her  out  of  that  dread 
ful  place  into  a  comfortable  room  somewhere." 

"  Suppose  you  do>,  how  is  she  going  to  stay 
in  it  ?  » 

"  What  do  you  mean,  sir?  " 

"  The  rent  of  such  a  room  as  you  speak  of 
would  be,  say  seventy-five  cents  or  a  dollar  a 
week.  How  are  Sarah  and  her  mother  to  pay 
that  ?  " 

"  O  I  should  have  to  pay  it  for  them.  I 
could  do  that,  I  think." 

"For  how  long?" 

Matilda  looked  at  her  teacher  and  did  not 
immediately  answer.  She  had  not  looked 
ahead  so  far  as  that. 

"  It  is  necessary  to  take  all  things  into  con 
sideration,"  he  said,  answering  her  look. 
"  You  would  not  wish  to  put  Sarah  and  her 
mother  into  a  place  of  comfort  for  a  little 
while,  merely  to  let  them  fall  out  of  it  again  ?  " 

"  O  no,  sir ! " 

"  How  are  they  to  be  maintained  in  it  ?  " 

Matilda  pondered. 


5  TRADING. 

"  I  could  take  care  of  the  rent,  I  think,  I 
mean  we  could,  for  a  while  ;  for  a  year,  per 
haps  ;  by  that  time  couldn't  they  pay  it,  don't 
you  think?" 

"  How  ?  " 

"  By  their  work ;  by  their  earnings." 

"  But  now,  and  for  a  long  time  past,  their 
work  has  not  enabled  them  to  pay  for  any 
thing  better  than  they  have  got." 

"  Couldn't  they  do  something  better,  Mr. 
Wharncliffe?  something  else  ?  that  would  give 
them  more  money  ?  " 

"  What  work  could  you  help  them  to,  that 
would  pay  better  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  sir,"  said  Matilda,  looking 
up  wisifully  in  her  teacher's  face.  "I  don't 
know  anything  about  such  things.  Can  you 
tell  me?  What  work  is  there  that  they 
could  get.  What  ty  other  poor  people  do  ?  " 

"  There  are  other  things,"  said  Mr.  Wharn- 
cliffe  thoughtfully.  "  There  are  better  and 
better  paying  sorts  of  sewing;  what  Mrs.  Sta 
ples  does  is  very  coarse,  and  she  gets  very  little 


TRADINGS.  59 

for  it.  But  machine  work  now-a-days  puts 
hand  work  at  a  disadvantage." 

"  What  is  machine  work,  sir?  " 

"  Work  done  on  a  sewing  machine.  With 
a  machine  a  woman  can  do  I  suppose,  ten 
times  as  much  in  a  day,  and  with  more  ease 
to  herself." 

"  Well,  wouldn't  Mrs.  Staples  work  on  a 
machine  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know.  I  think  she  used  to  take 
in  washing  once.  She  could  do  that  again, 
if  she  had  a  better  room  and  conveniences." 

"  And  does  that  pay  better?  " 

"  I  believe  so.     Indeed  I  am  sure." 

"  Then  she  might  do  washing,"  said  Ma 
tilda;  "  and  Sarah  might  sew  on  a  machine, 
Mr.  Wharncliffe." 

"  She  has  not  got  one,  you  know." 

ulf  we  could  get  her  one?  Wouldn't 
that  be  nice,  Mr.  Wharncliffe  ?  " 

"  My  dear  child,  a  good  sewing  machine 
costs  a  good  deal  of  money." 

"  But  if  we  could,  Mr.  Wharncliffe  ?    I  said 

if-" 


60  TRADING. 

"  Nothing  could  be  better.  Perhaps,  by  and 
by,  it  might  be  managed.  In  the  mean  time, 
Sarah  might  learn,  and  possibly  get  work  ;  or 
get  a  machine  and  pay  for  it  gradually  by 
doing  work  for  the  makers.  Such  arrange 
ments  are  made." 

"  How  much  does  a  sewing  machine  cost  ?  " 

"  From  forty  five  to  sixty  dollars." 
"  Forty  five,"  repeated  Matilda  gravely. 
"  But,  Mr.  Wharnclifte,  in  the  first  place  the 
thing  to  do  is  to  get  them  out  of  that  place 
into  a  new  room.  Might  we  not  do  that? 
and  don't  you  think  the  rest  can  be  managed, 
somehow  ?  " 

"  If  we  do  that,  the  rest  must  be  managed, 
if  possible.  It  is  always  greater  kindness 
and  a  far  greater  benefit,  Matilda,  to  help 
poor  people  to  take  care  of  themselves,  than 
to  save  them  fhat  care." 

«  Why,  sir  ?  " 

"  People  are  better  and  happier  and  stronger, 
working  for  their  living  and  earning  it,  and 
keeping  the  sense  of  independence,  than  they 


TBADING.  6l 

are  when  living  on  the  money  of  other  peo 
ple  and  losing  their  own  self-respect.  That 
is  very  ruinous  to  character.  Avoid  it  al 
ways,  in  all  your  efforts  to  help  people." 

"  Yes,  I  see,"  said  Matilda  thoughtfully. 
"  But,  Mr.  Wharncliffe,  Sarah  and  her  mother 
cannot  do  anything  to  get  in  a  better  way 
while  they  live  in  that  cellar.  They  want 
some  help  just  at  first.  Don't  they  ?  " 

"  Certainly ;  and  I  think  we  have  struck 
the  right  line  of  action  to  pursue  for  them. 
Help  to  put  them  in  the  way  of  being  com 
fortably  independent,  is  just  what  they  want." 

"  Then  the  first  thing  is  a  lodging,"  said 
Matilda,  with  a  relieved  and  brightening  face. 
"  How  can  we  find  one,  Mr.  Wharncliffe  ? 
I  don't  want  them  to  know  about  it  till  we 
get  it  all  settled  and  ready  for  them  to  move 
into." 

"  Ready  for  them  ?  "  said  Mr.  Wharncliffe 
inquiringly. 

"  Yes,  sir ;  you  know  they  have  nothing 
to  put  into  a  nice  room  now,  if  they  had  one." 


62  TRADING. 

"  Aren't  you  laying  plans  beyond  your 
means  ?  " 

"  Beyond  mine;  but  I  shall  have  some  help. 
I  don't  know  exactly  how  much,  but  some." 

"  Well,  you  will  let  me  help  too  if  neces 
sary,"  said  the  gentleman.  "  And  I  will  look 
out  for  a  lodging." 

"  O  thank  you !     Will  you,  sir  ?  " 

"  To  be  sure.  That  is  one  way  I  am  going 
to  help." 

"  And  when  you  have  found  one,  you  will 
let  me  know  ?  " 

"  Whom  else  ?  Certainly,  I  will.  I  shall 
take  no  step  without  your  direction." 

"  O  thank  you,  sir!"  said  Matilda  again. 

They  had  been  walking  up  the  Avenue 
during  this  talk,  to  have  uninterrupted  time 
for  it;  now  they  had  turned  about  to  come 
home.  Clear  and  bright  and  cold  the  sun 
was  leaving  the  streets  and  lingering  about 
the  house  roofs  and  chimneys  ;  and  the  stee- 
plrs  of  churches  were  shining  marks  of  light 
on  one  side,  on  the  other  dark  spires  against 


TRADING.  63 

the  western  sky.  Mr.  Wharncliflfe  and  Ma 
tilda  quickened  their  steps,  which  the  frosty 
air  made  it  pleasant  to  do.  She  supposed 
that  the  subject  of  their  conversation  was 
ended  for  the  present,  and  so  was  somewhat 
surprised  to  hear  the  next  question  from  her 
companion.  It  came  out  after  some  little 
pause. 

"  Matilda  what  has  put  this  in  your  head  ?  " 

"  This  we  have  been  talking  of?  Why  I 
wanted  to  make  Sarah  comfortable.  I  could 
not  bear  to  have  her  in  that  dreadful  place. 
Mr.  Wharncliffe,  don't  you  think  it  is  dread 
ful  ?  " 

"  I  do  think  it  is  dreadful ;  and  your  feeling 
very  natural.  Then  you  want  to  go  to  this 
expense  and  trouble  for  the  comfort  of  know 
ing  that  she  is  comfortable?" 

"  I  think  so,"  said  Matilda,  somewhat  puz 
zled.  "  I  could  not  bear  to  think  of  her 
there." 

"  All  perfectly  right,  Matilda,"  said  her 
friend  smiling.  "  I  only  want,  while  you 


64  TRADING. 

are  taking   care  of   Sarah,   to  take   care   of 
you." 

"How,  sir?" 

"  There  are  so  many  ways  in  which  good 
things  may  be  done  ;  and  I  wish  you  to  take 
the  best." 

u  What  ways  do  you  mean,  sir?  I  do  not 
understand." 

"  There  is  one  way  of  doing  kind  things, 
merely  or  chiefly  to  save  one's  self  from  the 
uncomfortable  feeling  that  the  sight  of  misery 
gives.  Kind  people  of  that  sort  are  benevo 
lent  in  spots,  just  when  they  see  or  hear  of 
something  that  touches  them,  and  never  at 
any  other  time.  Others  do  kind  things  be- 
^ause  they  like  to  have  a  name  for  generosity, 
and  giving  money  costs  them  nothing." 

Matilda  looked  inquiringly  up  in  Mr. 
WharnclinVs  face.  "  It  made  me  very  un 
comfortable  to  see  Sarah  in  that  place,"  she 
said  ;  "  and  to  think  of  her  in  it." 

«  A  third  sort  of  kindness,"  Mr.  Wharn- 
cliffe  went  on  smiling,  "  is  done  because  peo- 


TRADING.  65 

pie  love  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  so  love  all  whom 
he  loves,  and  like  to  do  the  work  he  wants  done." 

"  But  it  makes  them  feel  badly  to  see  peo 
ple  suffering  ?  "  said  Matilda. 

"  Undoubtedly.  They  are  the  tenderest  of 
all.  But  they  will  do  as  much  for  people 
they  never  saw,  as  for  those  at  hand ;  and 
their  spring  of  kindness  never  dries  up.  It 
is  a  perpetual  flow.  When  they  do  not  see 
objects  on  which  to  spend  it,  they  seek  them 
out." 

Matilda  pondered  matters  a  little.  Then 
she  lifted  a  very  honest  face  towards  her 
companion. 

"  Which  reason  did  you  think  made  me 
want  to  do  this  for  Sarah,  sir?" 

"  1  wanted  you  to  think  about  it." 

"  Don't  you  think,  Mr.  Wharncliffe,  it  is 
very  difficult  to  find  out  really  why  one  does 
things  ?  " 

"Very  difficult,"  said  Mr.  Wharncliffe 
with  a  comical  drawing  of  his  lips;  "but 
very  useful." 

5 


66  TRADING. 

"  I  do  not  think"  began  Matilda  again, 
very  gravely,  "  I  do  not  think  my  wanting  to 
do  this  for  Sarah  was  just  to  make  myself 
feel  comfortable." 

"  I  do  not  think  it,  my  child ;  but  it  is  no 
harm  to  have  your  attention  directed  to  the 
question.  In  all  such  matters,  keep  your 
action  pure ;  let  every  thing  be  done  for 
Christ,  and  then  it  will  be  all  right.  For 
instance,  Matilda,  when  the  real  motive  is 
self,  or  when  there  is  no  higher  at  work,  one 
is  easily  tempted  to  do  too  much  in  a  given 
case ;  to  indulge  one's  self  with  great  effects 
and  astonishing  liberality;  when,  if  it  were 
simply  for  Christ,  one  would  be  moderate 
and  simple  and  prudent,  and  keep  a  due  pro 
portion  in  things." 

"  Yes,"  said  Matilda  looking  puzzled,  —  "  T 
understand.  You  will  help  me  keep  a  *  proper 
proportion '  in  what  I  do  for  Sarah  Staples, 
Mr.  Wharncliffe?" 

"  How  much  are  you  thinking  of  doing?" 

"  I   want  to   get   her  into   a   comfortable 


TEAD1NO.  67 

room,"  said  Matilda.     "  That  is  first.     Then 
—  they  have  no  furniture,  Mr.  Wharncliffe  ?  " 

"  You  want  to  get  them  some  ?  " 

"  Would  that  be  too  much  ?  a  little  ?  com 
mon  things,  of  course,  but  what  they  cannot 
be  comfortable  without." 

"  How  much  money  do  you  propose  to 
spend  on  Sarah  at  this  time?" 

"  I  do  not  know.  I  know  about  how  much 
I  have,  but  I  can't  tell  yet  how  much  help  I 
shall  get.  I  want  to  do  what  ought  to  be 
done. " 

The  last  words  were  said  with  such  an 
accent  of  earnest  determination,  that  Mr. 
Wharncliffe  again  had  almost  smiled  at  his 
scholar ;  but  he  did  not.  He  went  on  quite 
gravely :  — 

"  A  room  and  some  necessary  furniture, 
I  should  think,  could  be  managed." 

"  Then  we  want  to  get  them  into  a  way  of 
earning  more." 

"  Yes.  I  will  see  about  that.  And  about 
the  room.  And  1  can  get  what  you  want  in 


68  TRADING. 

furniture,  at  a  second  hand  place,  where  the 
articles  will  cost  very  little." 

"  That's  good,"  said  Matilda.  "  Well,  Mr. 
Wharncliffe,  all  that  will  not  be  too  much  ?  " 

"  I  think  not." 

Matilda  hesitated,  and  then  added  doubt 
fully,  "  Don't  you  think  they  want  clean 
dresses  ?  " 

Mr.  WharnclifFe  smiled  now. 

"  Where  shall  we  stop  ?  "  said  he. 

"  But  they  are  very  —  uncomfortable,"  said 
Matilda,  after  waiting  to  choose  a  word.  Her 
teacher  thought  for  a  minute  of  Sarah's  well- 
worn,  faded,  lank,  best  dress,  and  how  little 
evidently  there  was  under  it  to  keep  the  child 
warm,  and  his  brow  grew  very  sober  indeed, 
and  his  blue  eye  misty. 

"  I'll  not  check  you,  Matilda,"  he  said, 
"  unless  I  see  you  going  to  some  great  extrava 
gance.  Go  on,  and  I'll  help,  and  we'll  try  to 
make  one  bad  spot  at  least  a  little  better. 
Good-bye ! " 

With  a  smile  and  a  nod  he  parted  from 


TRADING.  69 

her  at  her  own  door,  and  Matilda  ran  up  the 
steps  and  ran  in  with  a  whole  little  gale  of 
pleasure  freshening  through  her  heart. 

There  was  a  gale  of  another  sort  blowing 
through  the  house  that  evening,  and  making 
the  household  lively.  Pleasure  was  wt 
wanting  to  it,  though  it  was  pleasure  of 
another  sort  and  largely  mixed  with  excite 
ment.  The  three  other  young  ones  were  full 
of  plans  for  the  holiday  week,  reminiscences 
of  the  last  evening,  comparison  and  discus 
sion  of  presents,  and  of  people.  Matilda  in 
the  midst  of  them  listened  and  was  amused, 
and  thought  of  her  gold  watch  and  of  Sarah 
with  great  secret  throbs  of  delight  in  her 
heart. 

"  So  you  were  the  witch,  grandmother," 
said  Norton.  "  I  knew  it.  I  was  sure  of  it. 
What  did  you  do  it  for?" 

"  Do  what,  boy  ?  " 

"  Take  up  a  witch's  trade  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  laid  it  down  yet." 

"No,  ma'am;  but  what  put  it  in  your 
head  ?  " 


70  TRADING. 

"  I  wanted  my  share  of  the  fun,"  said  the 
old  lady. 

"  Did  you  get  it,  grandmamma  ?  "  asked 
David. 

"  Yes.     A  very  good  share." 

"  Did  you  ask  everybody  such  questions  as 
you  asked  us  ?  "  Norton  inquired. 

"  I  did  not  want  to  know  the  same  thing 
about  all  of  you." 

"  No,  ma'arn.  Did  you  find  out  a  good 
deal,  grandmother  ?  " 

But  Mrs.  Lloyd  laughed  and  declined  to 
answer. 

"  There  is  something  more  I  want  to  find 
out,"  she  said.  "  I  want  to  know  what 
makes  this  little  girl  look  so  happy.  She 
doesn't  say  a  word,  but  her  smiles  speak  for 
her !  " 

«  Who,  Matilda  ?  "  said  Norton. 

"  It's  easy  enough  to  be  smiling,"  said  Judy 
\viih  slight  scorn. 

"  You  might  practise  it  then  a  little,  and 
do  no  hurt,"  remarked  Norton. 


TRADING.  71 

"  Nobody  ought  to  be  always  smiling," 
returned  Judy.  "  It's  vulgar.  And  it  doesn't 
mean  anything,  either." 

"  Hush,  Judy,"  said  her  mother. 

"  What  were  you  smiling  about,  Matilda?  " 
Mrs.  Lloyd  asked. 

"  A  great  many  things  I  was  thinking  of, 
ma'am." 

But  the  little  girl's  face  was.  so  gleeful  as 
she  answered,  and  the  smile  and  the  sparkle 
were  so  pleasant,  that  the  old  lady's  curiosity 
was  raised. 

"  A  great  many  things  ?  "  she  repeated,  "  A 
great  many  things  to  be  glad  of?  I  should 
like  to  know  what  they  are.  Come,  I  will 
make  a  bargain  with  you.  I  will  give  you 
a  silver  penny  for  your  thoughts ;  and  my 
silver  penny  shall  be  a  golden  half-eagle." 

"  For  my  thoughts,  ma'am  ?  "  said  Matilda, 
half  bewildered ;  while  the  other  young  ones 
burst  out  like  a  pack  of  hounds  after  their 
leader. 

"A  half-eagle,"  Mrs.  Lloyd  repeated,  "  for 


72  TRADING. 

all  your  thoughts ;  if  you  will  give  me  them 
all.  I  want  to  know  all  the  things  you  are 
feeling  so  glad  about." 

"  Grandmamma,  you'll  do  as  much  for 
me  ?  "  cried  Judy.  "  Only,  mine  will  take  an 
eagle  to  bring  them  down.  They  fly  high. 
You  might  have  bought  hers,  I  am  confident, 
for  a  duck  or  a  pigeon." 

"  I  should  like  to  make  a  bargain  too, 
grandmother,"  said  Norton  ;  "  if  you  are  in 
that  mood." 

"  Do  you  think  your  thoughts  are  worth 
anything  ?  "  said  his  grandmother ;  —  "to  any 
body  but  yourself  ?  " 

"  Whose  are  ?  "  said  David. 

"  Mine  are  not,"  said  Matilda.  She  had 
flushed  high,  for  she  saw  that  the  old  lady  was 
in  earnest ;  and  five  dollars  was  a  good  deal 
to  her  just  now. 

"  Everything  is  worth  what  it  will  fetch, 
though,"  said  David.  "  I  advise  you  to 
close  with  the  offer,  Matilda.  Five  dollars  is 
five  dollars,  you  know." 


TRADING.  73 

Matilda's  eyes  went  doubtfully  to  Mrs. 
Lloyd. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  old  lady  smiling.  "  I  will 
stand  to  my  part  of  the  bargain,  if  you  will 
stand  to  yours.  But  mind,  I  want  all." 

"  There  were  so  many  things,"  Matilda 
began  ; "  it  would  take  me  a  good  while  to  tell 
them." 

"  Never  mind  ;  we  have  nothing  better  to 
do,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  "We  are  at  leisure." 

"  Time's  nothing,"  said  Norton,  in  great 
amusement. 

"  At  ten  dollars  or  so  an  hour,"  added 
David. 

Poor  Matilda  was  in  some  difficulty.  She 
was  furnishing  the  entertainment  of  the  whole 
circle ;  for  even  Mrs.  Bartholomew  put  down 
her  paper,  and  Mrs.  Laval  was  smiling,  and 
Mrs.  Lloyd  was  waiting,  and  the  children 
were  all  open-eyed.  But  she  had  nothing  to 
be  ashamed  of ;  and  five  dollars !  — 

"  I  was  feeling  glad  about  my  watch,"  she 
began,  *'•  and  about  my  picture  —  O  so  very 


74  TRADING. 

glad!  I  think  they  have  hardly  been  out  of 
my  mind  all  day." 

"  Picture  ?  what  picture  ?  "  said  Judy. 

"  Hush!  "  said  her  grandmother. 

"  She  didn't  have  any  picture!  "  Judy  went 
on.  Matilda  looked  at  her  and  said  noth 
ing. 

"  Did  you  ?  "  said  Judy.  "  What  was  it  ? 
Is  it  in  a  locket  ?  " 

"  You  can  attend  to  her  afterwards,  Ma 
tilda,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  At  present  you  are 
engaged  with  me.  There  is  nobody  here  but 
you  and  me." 

Matilda  sincerely  wished  it  had  been  so; 
but  she  had  several  curious  pairs  of  ears  lis 
tening  to  her. 

"  Then  I  was  glad,  I  believe,  about  all  the 
pleasure  of  last  night,  and  the  Christmas  tree, 
and  my  other  presents;  but  that  wasn't  all. 
To-day  has  been  so  very  pleasant,  and  this 
afternoon  particularly." 

"  This  afternoon  !  "  cried  Judy.  "  Why 
she  was  away  at  that  horrid  Sunday  school." 


TRADING.  75 

"  She  don't  think  it  is  horrid,"  said  Norton, 
displeased. 

"You  don't  mean  she  shall  get  through 
what  she  has  to  say,"  remarked  David. 

"  If  you  would  all  hold  your  tongues,  there 
would  be  some  chance,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd. 
"  Try  again,  Matilda.  Was  there  more  ? 
What  made  the  afternoon  so  pleasant  ?  " 

"  It  always  is  at  that  school,"  said  Matilda. 
"  But  besides  that,  this  afternoon  I  believe  I 
got  some  help  for  something  I  want  to  do ; 
and  thinking  about  that,  and  about  what  I 
want  to  do,  was  part  of  I  what  was  feeling  so 
glad  about." 

"  Well  if  that  isn't  a  confused  statement  of 
facts  !  "  said  Judy.  "  Feeling  so  glad  about, 
—  when?'' 

"  When  Mrs.  Lloyd  asked  me  what  I  was 
smiling  at." 

<;  But  I  am  to  have  your  thoughts,  you 
know,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd,  with  a  rather  pleas 
ant  smile.  "  You  have  not  told  me  yet  what 
it  is  you  want  to  do,  the  thought  of  which  is 
so  agreeable." 


76  TRADING. 

"  I  did  tell  it,  to  the  witch  last  night,"  said 
Matilda.  "  Do  you  want  me  to  tell  it  again, 
now,  ma'am  ?  " 

"  Certainly.  You  don't  think  I  am  a  witch, 
do  you?" 

On  that  point  Matilda  did  not  give  her 
thoughts ;  but  as  desired,  she  told  the  story, 
briefly,  of  Sarah  and  her  home,  and  of  the 
reforms  proposed  in  the  latter.  The  attention 
of  her  hearers  was  marked,  although  most 
of  them  indeed  had  known  the  matter 
before. 

«  What  was  there  in  all  this  to  make  you 
so  very  glad  ?  "  inquired  Judy. 

Matilda  hesitated,  and  could  not  find  what 
to  say. 

"  Pink  has  her  own  ways  of  being  happy 
you  see,"  Norton  remarked. 

"  She  is  not  the  only  one,  I  hope,"  said 
David. 

"  The  only  one,  what  ?  "  said  Judy  sharply. 
"  You  are  as  bad  as  she  is,  David,  to-night, 
for  talking  thick." 


TRADING.  77 

"  Have  we  got  through,  my  dear  ?  "  inquired 
Mrs.  Lloyd  kindly. 

"  Through  all  the  things  that  were  making 
me  feel  glad  ?  "  said  Matilda.  "  No,  ma'am  — 
not  quite."  And  she  stopped  and  flushed. 

"  Let  us  have  it,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  A 
bargain  is  a  bargain." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Matilda.  "  I  am 
afraid —  I  was  afraid  —  perhaps  you  wouldn't 
understand  me.  I  was  glad  of  all  these 
things  ;  —  and  then,  I  thought,  I  was  so  glad 
that  I  knew  about  Jesus  ;  and  that  I  am  his 
child  ;  and  that  he  has  given  me  all  these 
other  things  to  be  glad  about,  and  this  work 
to  do  for  Sarah!" 

There  was  a  profound  silence  for  a  minute 
or  two.  Judy  was  astonished  out  of  speech. 
David,  perhaps,  disgusted.  Norton  was  a 
little  proud  that  Matilda  had  independence 
enough  to  dare  to  speak  out,  even  if  he 
chafed  a  little  under  the  subject  of  her  plain 
speaking.  The  elder  ladies  looked  at  one 
another  with  an  odd  expression  in  their  eyes. 


78  TRADING. 

When  Mrs.  Lloyd  spoke  she  went  back  to 
the  practical  question. 

"  How  much  money  do  you  expect  it  will 
take,  to  do  what  you  want  for  these  poor 
people,  Matilda?" 

"  I  don't  know,  ma'am,  yet.  My  teacher 
will  find  out  and  tell  me." 

"  Is  it  your  teacher  who  has  suggested  the 
plan  ?  " 

"  The  plan  ?  —  O  no,  ma'am,"  said  Matilda. 
"  It  is  my  plan.  I  have  been  talking  him 
into  it." 

"  Who  is  he  ?  "  Mrs.  Lloyd  asked. 

"  Mr.  Wharncliffe." 

"  What  Wharnclifie  ?  Is  he  any  connec 
tion  of  General  Wharncliffe  ?  " 

"  His  brother,"  said  Norton. 

This  seemed,  Matilda  did  not  know  why, 
to  give  satisfaction  to  her  elders.  Mrs. 
Lloyd  went  on  with  an  unbent  face. 

"  How  much  money  have  you  got,  Matilda, 
to  work  with?" 

"  Not  a  great  deal,  ma'am  ;  I  have  saved  a 


TRADING.  79 

little.  It  won't  take  such  a  very  great  deal 
to  get  all  I  want.  It  is  only  common 
things." 

"  Saved  !  "  Judy  burst  out.  "  Saved!  Now 
we  have  got  at  it.  This  is  the  secret.  This 
is  why  we  are  such  good  temperance  people 
and  think  it's  wicked  to  buy  liqueur  glasses. 
O  yes!  we  save  our  money  that  way,  no 
doubt." 

"Judy,"  said  her  brother,  "  I'm  ashamed  of 
you." 

"  No  need,"  said  Judy  coolly.  "  Keep  it 
for  yourself,  next  occasion." 

«  What  is  all  this  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Lloyd. 

"  Nothing  that  had  better  go  any  further," 
said  Mrs.  Laval.  "  Nothing  of  any  conse 
quence,  mother." 

"  It  is  of  no  consequence,"  said  Judy,  "  be 
cause  David  and  Nojton  made  it  up." 

"  And  Judy  didn't,"  said  Norton. 

"  Not  I ;  it  was  your  affair,"  said  the  young 
lady.  "  My  connections  are  not  given  to 
saving." 


80  TRADING. 

"  That  is  very  true  indeed ! "  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Bartholomew,  bursting  out  into  a  laugh; 
"  and  you,  Judy,  least  of  all  your  <  con 
nections.'  " 

"  But  what  is  all  this  ? "  repeated  Mrs. 
Lloyd,  seeing  that  the  faces  around  her  were 
moved  by  very  various  sorts  of  expression. 
It  had  to  come  out.  Judy  and  Norton  told 
the  story  between  them,  with  some  difficulty. 
Matilda  felt  very  sorry,  and  very  doubtful  of 
the  effect.  David  looked  exceedingly  dissat 
isfied.  Mrs.  Lloyd  listened  with  unchanged 
gravity. 

"  There  !  you  may  call  it  what  you  like," 
Judy  said  in  conclusion.  "  But  I  like  to 
have  things  go  by  their  right  names." 

"  It  wouldn't  be  always  best  for  you,"  said 
her  brother. 

"  Do  you  think  it  is  wrong,  my  dear,  to 
drink  wine  ?  "  Mrs.  Lloyd  asked,  addressing 
Matilda. 

Matilda  did  not  well  know  what  to  answer. 
She,  a  child,  what  business  had  she  to  '  think* 


TRADING.  8 1 

anything  about  the  right  or  the  wrong  of 
things  done  by  people  so  much  older  and 
wiser  than  herself?  And  yet,  that  did  not 
change  the  truth,  and  the  truth  was  what 
she  must  answer. 

"  I  have  promised  not  to  do  it,"  she  said, 
almost  shrinkingly. 

"  That  affects  your  own  drinking  or  not 
drinking.  Do  you  think  it  is  wrong  for  other 
people  ?  " 

Again  Matilda  hesitated.  She  would  have 
welcomed  almost  any  interruption  of  Judy's ; 
but  this  time  Judy  kept  as  still  as  a  mouse. 
And  so  did  everybody  else.  Matilda's  colour 
came  and  went. 

"  If  you  please,  ma'am,"  she  said  at  last, 

"  I  don't  want  to  say  what  you  will  think 
rude." 

"  I  will  not  think  it  rude,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd 
with  a  little  laugh.  "  I  want  to  know  what 
notion  such  a  child  as  you  has  got  in  her 
head.  Do  you  think  it  is  wrong  ? " 

"  Yes,  rna'arn,"  Matilda-answered  softly. 


82  TRADING. 

"  Hear  her  !  "  cried  Judy.  "  She  has  got 
an  idea  that  wine  is  money  in  another  form, 
and  heavy  to  drink." 

Matilda  thought  that  Judy  had  unwit 
tingly  put  her  very  meaning  into  the  words  ; 
but  she  did  not  say  so. 

"  My  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd,  "  I  have 
drunk  wine  all  my  life.  It  has  never 
hurt  me." 

Matilda  was  silent. 

"  Is  that  your  notion,  that  it  is  unwhole 
some  ?  " 

"  No,  ma'am." 

"  What  then  ?  " 

"  People  take  too  much  of  it,"  said  Ma 
tilda;  "  and  it  ruins  them  ;  and  if  all  good  peo 
ple  would  let  it  alone,  wouldn't  it  help  to 
make  the  rest  let  it  alone?" 

"  Insufferable  piggishness  ! "  said  Mrs.  Bar 
tholomew.  "  You  must  excuse  me,  Zara.  I 
hope  you  will  teach  your  adopted  child  better 
manners,  arid  get  rid  of  a  little  of  this  superb 
folly." 


TRADING.  83 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  about  the  folly,"  said 
Mrs.  Laval. 

"  I  am  sure  about  the  manners,"  said  Mrs. 
Lloyd.  "  She  has  said  nothing  but  what  I 
have  made  her  say.  Now,  my  dear,  you  have 
fulfilled  your  part  of  the  bargain  between  us, 
and  I  will  do  my  part." 

The  old  lady  produced  a  gold  five  dollar 
piece  from  her  purse  and  put  it  in  Ma 
tilda's  hand.  Then  drawing  the  child  kindly 
towards  her,  she  added, 

"  And  from  this  time  you  must  call  me 
grandmamma,  will  you?  as  the  others  do; 
and  I  will  call  you  my  grandchild." 

She  kissed  the  astonished  Matilda,  and  the 
subject  was  dismissed.  At  least  by  the 
elders;  the  young  people  did  not  so  easily  let 
it  drop.  No  sooner  were  they  by  themselves 
than  Judy  held  forth  in  a  long  tirade,  about 
"  presumption  "  and  "  artfulness  "  and  "  under 
hand  ways;"  waxing  warm  as  she  went  on; 
till  Norton  was  provoked  to  answer,  and  the 
debate  between  them  grew  hot.  Matilda  said 


84  TiiM>i.\<;. 

never  a  word,  nor  did  David  ;  she  kept  out 
wardly  very  quiet ;  but  an  hour  after,  if  any 
body  could  have  seen  her  he  would  have  MM-II 
a  little  figure  cuddled  down  in  a  corner  of  her 
own  room  and  weeping  abundant  tears.  So 
ended  the  Christmas  Sunday  and  the  Christ 
mas  festival. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

r  I  ^HERE  were  too  many  pleasant  things 
on  hand  for  Judy's  behaviour  to  have 
any  very  lasting  effect  on  Matilda's  spirits, 
besides  that  a  good  share  of  independence 
was  one  of  her  valuable  characteristics. 
With  the  new  light  of  Monday  morning,  her 
heart  leapt  up  anew  at  thought  of  all  the 
comfort  preparing  for  Sarah  and  at  her  grow 
ing  stock  of  means  for  the  same.  She  got 
out  her  purse  and  counted  her  money.  With 
the  new  gold  piece  there  was  a  nice  little 
sum;  not  enough  indeed,  but  Matilda  had 
hopes  of  David,  and  hopes  floating  and  va 
rious,  that  somehow  what  was  needful  would 
be  forthcoming  when  the  time  came. 

The  week  was  about  half  gone,  when    one 
afternoon  David  came  to  Matilda's  door  and 


86  TRADING. 

knocked.  Matilda  had  shut  herself  up  to  write 
a  letter  to  Maria,  and  opened  the  door  to 
David  with  a  good  deal  of  surprise  and 
pleasure.  The  second  time,  this  was.  He 
came  in  and  sat  down. 

"  Where  do  you  think  I  have  been  ?  "  said 
he. 

"  To  see  Sarah  ?  "  said  Matilda  eagerly. 

"  You  are  quick,"  said  David  smiling. 
"  No,  I  have  not  been  to  see  Sarah  exactly ; 
but  I  have  been  to  see  where  she  lives  and  all 
about  her." 

"  Did  you  see  where  she  lives  ?  " 

«  Yes." 

"  David,  isn't  it  horrid  ?  " 

"  It's  disgusting!  "  said  David. 

"  But  she  can't  help  it,"  said  Matilda,  again 
eagerly. 

"  No,  she  can't,  but  somebody  ought  to  help 
it.  There  ought  not  to  be  any  such  horror 
possible  in  such  a  city  as  this." 

"  So  I  think.  v  But  who  ought  to  help  it, 
David  ?  How  could  anybody  help  it  ?  " 


TRADING.  87 

"  There  used  to  be  a  way  among  my  peo 
ple,"  said  the  boy  proudly.  "  The  corners  of 
the  cornfields,  and  the  last  of  the  grapes  on 
the  vines,  and  the  dropped  ears  of  corn, 
and  the  last  beatings  of  the  olives,  were 
commanded  to  be  left  for  the  poor." 

"  But  there  are  no  vines  nor  cornfields  nor 
olives  here"  said  Matilda. 

"  Nothing  so  good,"  replied  David.  "  I 
believe  people  grow  wicked  in  cities." 

"  Then  do  you  think  it  is  wicked  to  build 
cities  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  David ; 
"  that's  another  matter.  Without  cities  a 
great  many  good  things  would  be  impossible." 

"  Would  they  ?  what  ?  "  said  Matilda. 

"  Well,  commerce,  you  know ;  without 
great  centres  of  commerce,  there  could  not 
be  great  commerce  ;  and  there  would  not  be 
great  fortunes  then ;  and  without  great  for 
tunes  there  could  not  be  the  grand  things  in 
rnusic  and  painting  and  sculpture  and  archi 
tecture  and  books,  that  there  are  now." 


88  TRADING. 

What  "great  centres  of  commerce"  might 
be,  Matilda  could  not  tell ;  and  she  did  not 
like  to  ask  David  too  many  questions.  She 
suddenly  came  out  with  an  objection. 

"  But  Abraham  did  not  live  in  a  city." 
David    started,   looked    at   her,    and    then 
laughed  a  little. 

"  Abraham !  no,  he  did  not ;  and  he  was  a 
rich  man ;  but  one  rich  man  here  and  there 
could  not  do  those  things  I  spoke  of." 

"  Then,  wouldn't  it  be  better  there  should 
be  no  cities  ?  "  said  Matilda. 

"Better  than  what?  Better  than  have 
cities  with  such  dreadful  poor  people  ?  Can't 
have  the  good  without  the  bad,  I  suppose." 

"  You  said,  people  grow  wicked  in  cities." 

"  Well,  they  do." 

"  Then  ought  people  to  build  cities  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  how  the  world  would  get 
on,  at  that  rate,"  said  David  smiling.  "  Any- 
tiow  the  cities  are  built;  and  we  are  living  in 
one;  and  one  corner  house  in  it  gives  you 
and  me  as  much  as  we  can  do." 


TRADING.  89 

"  A  single  room  in  it,  David." 

"  Yes.  Well,  you  know  you  consulted  a 
witch  the  other  night." 

"Did  I?"  said  Matilda. 

"  The  witch  gave  me  orders  to  search  into 
your  matter.  I  have  done  it,  and  told  her 
what  I  had  found ;  and  she  has  commissioned 
me  to  deliver  to  you  —  this." 

So  saying,  David  produced  a  little  gold 
piece,  the  very  mate  to  the  one  Matilda  had 
earned  by  telling  her  thoughts. 

"  O    David  !  "    Matilda    exclaimed,  —  "  O 
David ! " 

«  Well  ?  "  said  David  smiling.     "  What  ?  " 

"  I  am  getting  so  much ! " 

"  You  will  want  it." 

"  But  I  don't  see  how  it  should  take  such 
a  very  great  deal  of  money  just  to  do  this 
little  thing,"  said  Matilda ;  and  she  went  on 
to  explain  Mr.  Wharncliffe's  propositions  and 
helping  agency.  Before  she  had  well  got 
through,  Norton  dashed  in. 

"  Hallo  !  David  here  ?  All  the  better.  Isn't 
she  a  jewel  of  a  witch,  David  ?  " 


90  TRADING. 

David  looked  up  with  a  responsive  twinkle 
in  his  eye;  and  Matilda  asked  what  he  meant. 

"  Mean  ?"  said  Norton,  "  I  mean  the  witch. 
You  went  to  see  the  witch,  Pink ;  haven't  you 
heard  from  her  ?  " 

"Yes!  just  this  minute;  but  Norton,  I 
don't  know  what  you  expected  to  hear.  What 
have  you  heard  ?  " 

"  Glorious  ! "  cried  Norton,  swinging  his 
cap  joyously.  "  We've  got  that  little  room, 
Pink,  for  a  greenhouse;  and  a  stove  in  it  for 
cold  nights ;  and  shelves  and  benches  and 
frames  and  all  those  things  I'll  put  up  my 
self;  and  then  we'll  have  a  show  of  flowers. 
Your  hyacinths  will  do  a  great  deal  better 
up  there." 

"Will  they?"  said  Matilda.  «  They  are 
doing  very  nicely  here;  and  they  look  nicely." 
"  Now  we  can  do  all  we've  a  mind  to,  Pink. 
I'll  have  some  amaryllis  roots  right  off;  and 
japonicas,  japonicas,  Pink;  and  everything 
you  like.  Geraniums,  and  Bovardias,  and 
Azaleas,  and  Cacti ;  and  Cyclamens ;  and 


TRADING.  91 

Cassia    and    Arbutillon.      Fucnsias  too,  and 
what  you  like! " 

"  Why  that  little  room  will  not  hold  every 
thing,"  said  Matilda.  "  Can't  you  have  some 
roses  ? " 

"  Roses  ?  O  yes,  and  carnations  ;  everything 
you  like.  Yes,  it  will  hold  everything.  Lots 
of  tulips,  too." 

"  How  about  the  money  ?  "  David  asked. 

a  It  don't  take  a  fortune  to  stock  a  little 
greenhouse." 

"  You  haven't  got  a  fortune." 

"  I  have  got  enough." 

"  Have  anything  left  for  other  objects?" 

"What  objects  ?  "  said  Norton.  "  I  haven't 
but  one  object  at  present.  One's  enough." 

"  But  Matilda  has  an  object  too,"  David 
said  smiling  enough  to  show  his  white  teeth ; 
"  and  her  object  will  want  some  help,  I'm 
thinking." 

«  What  object  ?  "  said  Norton. 

"  Don't  you  remember  ?  I  told  you,  Nor 
ton,  about  Sarah  "  — 


92  TRADING. 

"  O  that!"  said  Norton  with  a  perceptible 
fall  of  his  mental  thermometer.  "  Thai's  all 
your  visions,  Pink ;  impracticable ;  fancy. 
The  idea  of  you,  with  your  little  purse,  going 
into  the  mud  of  New  York,  and  thinking  to 
dean  the  streets." 

"  Certainly,"  said  David,  "  and  so  she  wauls 
a  little  help  from  our  purses,  don't  you  see  ?  " 

"  David  Bartholomew !  "  Norton  burst  out, 
"  you  know  as  well  as  I  do,  that  it  is  no  sort 
of  use  to  try  that  game.  Just  go  look  at  the 
rnud  ;  it  will  take  all  we  could  throw  into  it, 
and  never  shew." 

"  No,"  said  David ;  "  we  could  clear  up  a 
little  corner,  I  think,  if  we  tried." 

"  You  I  "  cried  Norton.  "  Are  you  at  that 
game  ?  You  turned  soft  suddenly  ?  " 

"  Do  no  harm,  that  I  see,"  replied  David 
composedly. 

"  These  people  aren't  your  people,"  said 
Norton. 

"  They  are  your  people,"  said  David. 

"  They  are  not !    I  have  nothing  to  do  with 


TRADING.  93 

them,  and  it  is  no  use  —  Davie  Bartholomew, 
you  know  it's  no  use  —  to  try  to  help  them. 
Pink  is  so  tender-hearted,  she  wants  to  help 
the  whole  world ;  and  it's  all  very  well  for 
her  to  want  it ;  but  she  can't ;  and  I  can't ; 
and  you  can't." 

"  But  we  can  help  Sarah  Staples,"  Matilda 
ventured.  v 

"  And  then  you  may  go  on  to  help  some 
body  else,  and  then  somebody  else  ;  and  there's 
no  end  to  it ;  only  there's  this  end,  that  you'll 
always  be  poor  yourself  and  never  be  able  to 
do  anything  you  want  to  do." 

Norton  was  unusually  heated,  and  both  his 
hearers  were  for  a  moment  silenced. 

"  You  know  that's  the  truth  of  it,  Davie," 
he  went  on ;  "  and  it's  no  use  to  encourage 
Pink  to  fancy  she  can  comfort  everybody  that's 
in  trouble,  and  warm  everybody  that  is  cold, 
and  feed  everybody  that  is  hungry,  because 
she  just  can't  do  it.  You  can  tell  her  there 
is  TIO  end  to  that  sort  of  thing  if  she  once  tries 
it  on.  Suppose  we  all  went  to  work  at  it. 


94  TRADING. 

Just  see  where  we  would  be.  Where  would 
be  Pink's  gold  watch,  and  her  picture  ?  and 
where  would  be  her  gold  bracelet  ?  and  where 
would  my  greenhouse  be  ?  And  where  would 
this  house  be,  for  that  matter?  and  the  furni 
ture  in  it?  and  how  should  we  all  dress.' 
Your  mother  wouldn't  wear  velvet  dresses, 
that  you  like  so  much ;  and  mine  wouldn't 
wear  that  flimsy  muslin  stuff  that  she  likes  so 
much ;  and  grandmamma's  lace  shawl  would 
never  have  been  mended,  for  it  never  would 
have  been  here  to  get  burnt.  It's  all  a  lot  of 
nonsense,  that's  what  it  is. 

"  There  is  law  about  it,  though,"  David 
began  again  gravely. 

«  Law  ?  "  Norton  echoed. 

"  The  law  of  my  people." 

"O  what  is  it,  David?"  cried  Matilda; 
while  Norton  was  grumly  silent  He  did  not 
want  to  debate  David's  Jewish  law  with  him. 
David  gave  the  words  very  readily. 

"'  When  there  is  with  thee  any  needy  one 
of  one  of  thy  brethren,  in  one  of  thy  cities,  in 


TRADING.  95 

thy  land  which  Jehovah  thy  God  is  giving  to 
thee,  thou  dost  not  harden  thy  heart,  nor  shut 
thy  hand  from  thy  needy  brother;  for  thou 
dost  certainly  open  thy  hand  to  him,  and  dost 
certainly  lend  him  sufficient  for  his  lack  which 
he  lacketh.'  " 

"  That  says  what  the  people  would  do  — 
not  what  they  ought  to  do,"  said  Norton. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon  ;  it  is  a  strong  way  of 
saying,  in  the  Hebrew,  what  they  must  do. 
Listen.  '  Thou  dost  certainly  give  to  him, 
and  thy  heart  is  not  sad  in  thy  giving  to  him, 
for  because  of  this  thing  doth  Jehovah  thy 
God  bless  thee  in  all  thy  works,  and  in  every 
putting  forth  of  thine  hand ;  because  the 
needy  one  doth  not  cease  out  of  the  land, 
therefore  I  am  commanding  thee,  saying, 
Thou  dost  certainly  open  thy  hand  to  thy 
brother,  to  thy  poor,  and  to  thy  needy  one,  in 
thy  land.' " 

Matilda  was  thinking  of  other  words,  which 
she  dared  not  bring  forward;  being  in  a  part 
of  her  Bible  which  David  did  not  like. 


96  TRADING. 

Neither  was  it  necessary.  Norton  had  got 
quite  enough,  she  could  see.  He  was  in  a 
state  of  fume,  privately. 

"  I  am  going  to  give  one  side  of  the  green 
house  to  you,"  he  said,  turning  to  Matilda. 
"  Now  you  have  got  to  think  and  find  out 
what  you  will  put  in  it.  I  shall  have  the 
shelves  and  all  ready  by  the  end  of  the  week ; 
and  next  week,  Pink,  —  next  week!  —  we 
must  put  the  plants  in  ;  because  the  winter  is 
going  on,  you  know." 

The  conclave  broke  up,  to  go  upstairs  and 
look  at  the  new  greenhouse.  Norton  ex 
plained  his  arrangements ;  the  oil-cloth  he 
was  going  to  put  on  the  floor,  the  rising 
banks  of  green  shelves,  the  watering  and 
syringing  and  warming  of  the  little  place; 
till  Matilda  almost  smelt  the  geranium  leaves 
before  they  were  there. 

"  Now,  Pink,  what  will  you  have  on  your 
side  ?  " 

"  I  can't  give  more  than  a  dollar  to  it,  Nor 
ton,"  said  Matilda  very  regretfully. 


TRADING.  97 

«  A  dollar!  A  dollar,  Pink?  A  dollar  will 
get  you  two  or  three  little  geraniums.  What's 
to  become  of  the  rest  of  your  shelves  ?  " 

"  I  shall  have  to  give  them  back  to  you, 
I'm  afraid." 

"  You've  got  money,  plenty." 

"  But  I  can't  spend  it  for  plants." 

"  Because  you  are  going  to  throw  it  into 
the  mud,  Pink?  O  no,  you'll  not  do  that. 
I'll  give  you  a  catalogue  of  plants,  and  you 
shall  look  it  over ;  and  you  will  find  a  dollar 
won't  do  much,  I  can  tell  you.  And  then  you 
will  see  what  you  want." 

He  was  as  good  as  his  word ;  and  Matilda 
sipped  her  glass  of  water  and  eat  her  sponge 
cake  at  tea  time  between  the  pages  of  a  fas 
cinating  pamphlet,  which  with  the  delights  it 
offered  almost  took  away  her  breath,  and 
quite  took  away  the  taste  of  the  sponge  cake. 
Norton  looked  over  her  shoulder  now  and 
then,  well  pleased  to  see  his  charm  working. 

"  Yellow  carnations  ?  "  cried  Matilda. 

"  I  don't  like  them  best,  though,"  said  Nor- 

7 


98  TRADING. 

ton.  "  There,  that  —  La  purite*  —  that's  fine  • 
and  the  striped  ones,  Pink;  those  double 
heads,  just  as  full  as  they  can  be,  and  just  as 
sweet  as  they  can  be,  and  brilliant  carmine 
and  white  —  those  are  what  I  like." 

Matilda  drew  a  long  breath  and  turned  a 
leaf. 

"  Violets !  "  she  exclaimed. 

"  Do  you  like  them  ?  " 

"  Violets  ?  Why,  Norton,  I  don't  like  any 
thing  better !  I  don't  think  I  do.  Dear  little 
sweet  things  !  they  do  not  cost  much  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Norton, "  they  do  not  cost  much ; 
and  they  don't  make  much  show,  neither." 

"  But  they  don't  take  much  room." 

"  No ;  and  you  want  things  that  do  take 
room,  to  fill  your  shelves.  The  greenhouse 
ought  to  be  all  one  mass  of  green  and  bloom 
all  round. 

Matilda  heaved  another  sigh  and  turned 
another  leaf. 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  tuberoses," 
she  said.  "  Primroses  ?  what  are  they  like  ? 


TRADING.  99 

'  A  thousand  flowers  often  from  one  plant!' 
what  are  they  like,  Norton?" 

"  Like  ?  "  said  Norton.  "  I  don't  know 
what  they  are  like." 

"  I'll  tell  you,"  said  Judy,  who  as  usual 
was  pleasing  herself  with  a  cup  of  strong 
coffee ;  they  are  like  buttercups  come  to  town 
and  grown  polished." 

"  They  are  not  in  the  least  like  butter 
cups!"  said  Norton. 

"  That's  what  I  said,"  replied  Judy  coolly ; 
"  they  have  left  off  their  country  ways,  and 
don't  wear  yellow  dresses." 

Matilda  thought  it  was  best  to  take  no 
notice,  so  with  another  crumb  of  sponge  cake 
she  turned  over  to  the  next  flower  in  the  cata 
logue. 

"  What  are  Bouvardias  ?  I  don't  know 
anything  about  them." 

"  Of  course,"  said  Judy.  "  Not  to  be  ex 
pected." 

"  Do  you  want  to  take  care  of  your  own 
flowers  yourself,  Pink  ?  "  inquired  Norton  ; 
"  or  do  you  mean  to  have  me  do  it  ? " 


100  TRADING. 

"  Why,  I  will  do  it,  T  suppose." 

"  Then  you  had  better  leave  the  Bouvar- 
dias  to  me.  They  are  a  little  particular 
about  some  things." 

"  Are  they  handsome  ?  " 

«  Wait  till  you  see.  Splendid !  You'll 
see,  when  I  get  them  a  going.  We'll  have 
just  a  blaze  of  them." 

"A  blaze?"  said  Matilda.  "What  col 
our?" 

"  Flame  colour,  and  scarlet,  and  white,  and 
splendid  crimson." 

«  Heliotrope.  O  I  like  heliotrope,"  Matilda 
went  on. 

"  You  can  have  those,"  said  Norton. 
"  They're  sweet  and  easy.  And  we  must 
have  them,  of  course,  on  one  side  or  the 
other.  Begonias  —  those  you  might  have, 

too." 

"  Hyacinths  I  have  got,"  said  Matilda. 

«  Yes,  but  you  will  want  more,  now  that 
you  have  room  for  them." 

«  Azaleas  —  O    azaleas   are    lovely,"    said 


TRADING.  101 

Matilda.  "  They  are  showy  too;  and  you 
want  a  show,  Norton." 

"  So  do  you,  Pink." 

"Well,  I  like  azaleas,"  said  Matilda.  "Do 
they  cost  much  ?  " 

"  Not  so  very.  I  guess  you  can  have 
some." 

"  O  what  a  geranium ! "  Matilda  exclaimed. 
"'Lady  James  Vick' — 'seventy-five  cents 
each  '  —  but  what  a  lovely  colour,  Norton ! 
O  I  like  geraniums  next  best  to  roses,  I 
believe." 

"  You  must  go  to  another  catalogue  for 
your  roses,"  said  Norton. 

"  That  is  beautiful !  I  never  saw  such  a 
colour.  These  roses  are  better  yet." 

"  You  can't  have  roses  enough  in  bloom  at 
once.  We  want  other  things  to  help  make 
up  the  blaze  of  colour  there  ought  to  be. 
But  that's  easy." 

Matilda  turned  the  catalogue  over  and 
over  with  a  disturbed  mind.  It  seemed  to 
her  that  to  have  such  a  little  greenhouse  as 


102  TRADING. 

Norton  proposed,  full  of  beauties,  would  be 
one  of  the  most  enjoyable  things  that  could 
be.  Every  new  page  of  the  catalogue,  every 
new  detail  of  Norton's  plan,  tugged  at  her 
heart-strings.  She  wanted  to  get  those  plants 
and  flowers.  A  few  delicate  tea  roses,  some 
crimson  blush  roses,  some  pots  of  delicious 
purple  heliotropes  with  spicy  breath  ;  two  or 
three  —  or  four — great  double  carnations; 
bunches  of  violets,  sweetest  of  all ;  she 
wanted  these!  Then  some  azaleas,  larger  of 
course,  to  fill  up  the  shelves  and  make  a 
beautiful  show  of  colour,  as  Norton  desired. 
Her  imagination  went  over  and  over  the 
catalogue,  always  picking  these  out  for  her 
choice;  and  then  imagination  took  them  to 
ihe.  little  room  upstairs,  which  was  going  to 
be  such  a  lovely  little  greenhouse,  and  saw 
them  there  and  almost  smelt  their  fragrance. 
It  would  be  so  pleasant  to  take  care  of  them ; 
she  fancied  hei>elf  watering  them  and  dress 
ing  them,  picking  off  the  dead  leaves  and  tying 
up  the  long  wreaths  of  vines,  and  putting 


TRADING.  103 

flowers  into  Mrs.  Laval's  stem  glass  for  her 
dressing  table.  But  what  use  ?  she  had  not 
the  money  to  buy  the  plants,  if  she  went  on 
with  her  plans  for  Sarah's  behoof ;  no  count 
ing  nor  calculating  could  come  to  any  other 
conclusion.  She  thought  of  it  by  day  and 
she  thought  of  it  by  night ;  and  the  more  she 
thought,  the  more  her  desires  grew.  Then 
too,  the  wish  to  please  Norton  was  a  very 
serious  element  in  her  cogitations.  To 
disappoint  him  by  utterly  failing  to  do  all  he 
wished  and  counted  upon  from  her,  was  very 
hard  to  do  and  very  disagreeable  to  face. 
But  Sarah  ?  Matilda  could  not  change  her 
line  of  action,  nor  divert  more  than  one  dol 
lar  from  the  fund  saved  for  her  benefit.  One 
dollar,  Matilda  thought,  might  be  given  for 
flowers  ;  but  what  would  one  dollar  be  worth, 
with  all  one  side  of  the  little  greenhouse  to 
be  filled. 

It  is  not  easy  to  tell,  how  much  trouble  all 
this  question  gave  Matilda.  She  thought  it 
was  quite  strange  and  notable,  that  just  when 


104  TRADING. 

she  was  trying  to  accomplish  so  right  a  thing 
as  the  helping  of  that  poor  family  in  the  cel 
lar,  this  temptation  of  flowers  should  come 
up  to  make  it  hard.  In  one  of  her  windows 
stood  three  little  pots,  in  which  three  hya 
cinths  were  already  bursting  through  the 
brown  earth  and  showing  little  stout  green 
points  of  leaf  buds  which  promised  nicely  for 
other  buds  by  and  by.  They  had  been  a 
delight  to  Matilda's  heart  only  a  week  ago ; 
now,  it  seemed  as  if  that  vision  of  heliotropes 
and  roses  and  geraniums  had  somehow  swal 
lowed  them  up. 

When  she  went  next  to  Sunday  school, 
however,  and  saw  Sarah's  meek,  patient  face, 
Matilda  was  very  much  astonished  at  herself, 
and  not  a  little  ashamed.  She  sat  next 
Sarah  in  the  class,  and  could  see  without 
seeming  to  see,  how  thin  her  dress  was  and 
how  limp  it  was,  as  if  she  had  not  enough 
petticoats  under  it  to  keep  her  warm.  There 
was  a  patch  too  in  one  place.  And  Sarah's 
shawl  was  a  very  poor  wrap  alongside  of  the 


TBADING.  105 

well  covered  shoulders  under  Matilda's  thick 
coat.  "  No  gloves !  "  said  Matilda  to  herself, 
as  her  eye  glanced  from  her  own  very  hand 
some  and  warm  ones  ;  "  how  can  she  bear  it? 
I  wonder  how  it  makes  her  feel,  to  see  mine  ? 
Another  time  I'll  wear  an  older  pair." 
But  the  contrast  went  home  to  Matilda's 
heart.  Why  should  she  have  so  many  good 
things,  and  Sarah  so  few  ?  and  the  words 
David  had  quoted  from  the  Hebrew  Scrip 
tures  came  back  to  her. 

With  an  odd  feeling  as  if  there  were 
wrong  done  for  which  she  wras  somehow 
chargeable,  after  the  lesson  was  done  and 
school  dismissed  she  asked  Sarah  "  how  she 
was  ? "  The  girl's  meek  eye  brightened 
a  little  as  she  answered  that  she  was 
well. 

"  But  you  are  hoarse,"  said  Matilda.  "  You 
have  got  cold." 

"  O  I  often  do,  in  the  winter  time,"  said 
Sarah.  "  I  don't  think  anything  of  it." 

And   that   slight  shawl   and    thin    dress! 


Jo6  TRADING. 

Matilda's  heart  gave  some  painful  blows  to 
her  conscience. 

"  I  didn't  see  you  at  your  place  the  other 
day,'*  she  went  on. 

"  That  was  Thursday,"  said  Sarah.  «  No ; 
I  was  too  bad  Thursday.  I  didn't  go  out." 

So  she  staid  at  home  to  nurse  her  cold,  in 
that  cellar  room  with  the  mud  floor.  What 
sort  of  comfort  could  be  had  there?  or  what 
good  of  nursing?  Matilda  did  not  wonder 
that  the  street  corner  was  quite  as  pleasant 
and  nearly  as  profitable.  And  the  thought 
of  Sarah's  gentle  pale  face  as  she  said  those 
words  so  went  home  to  her  heart,  that  she 
was  crying  half  the  way  home ;  tears  of  sor 
row  and  sympathy  running  down  her  face, 
as  fast  as  she  wiped  them  away. 

That  same  evening,  at  tea-time,  Norton 
asked  if  she  had  made  up  her  list  of  plants 
for  the  greenhouse?  Matilda  said  no. 

"  We  shall  want  them,  now,  Pink.  By 
Wednesday  I  shall  have  the  staging  ready ; 
and  the  sooner  we  get  it  filled  the  better." 


TRADING.  107 

"  O  but,  dear  Norton,"  said  Matilda,  «  I  am 
very  sorry  to  disappoint  you;  but  I  cannot 
take  the  money." 

"  Can't  take  what  money  ?  " 

"  The  money  to  buy  those  plants.  1 
would  like  them;  but  I  cannot." 

"  But  you  were  making  your  list,"  said 
Norton. 

"  No,  I  wasn't.  I  was  only  thinking  what 
I  would  like  to  have." 

"  And  you  are  not  going  to  come  into  the 
greenhouse  at  all  ?  " 

That  was  more  than  Matilda  had  counted 
upon ;  the  tears  started  to  her  eyes ;  but  she 
only  said, — 

"  I  cannot  get  the  plants,  Norton ;"  and  she 
said  it  steadily. 

"  You  are  going  into  that  ridiculous  chari 
table  concern  ?  " 

Matilda  was  beyond  answering  just  then; 
she  kept  silence. 

"  Let  me  into  your  greenhouse,  Norton," 
said  Judy. 


108  TRADING. 

"Yes;  fine  work  you  would  make  there," 
Norton  replied. 

"  Indeed  I  would.  I'll  fill  my  shelves  with 
just  the  finest  things  we  can  get;  camellias, 
if  you  like ;  and  the  newest  geraniums,  and 
everything." 

"  You  wouldn't  take  care  of  them  if  you 
had  them." 

"  Well,  you  would,"  said  Judy ;  "  and  it 
comes  to  the  same  thing." 

"  Pink,"  said  Norton,  u  I  must  have  my 
shelves  full ;  and  I  can't  do  it  all.  If  you 
won't  come  into  the  greenhouse,  I  shall  let 
Judy  come." 

«  Well,  Norton,"  said  Matilda  steadily.  «  If 
you  knew  what  I  know,  and  if  you  had  seen 
what  I  have  seen,  you  wouldn't  wonder  at 
me ;  and  I  almost  think  you  would  help  me." 

"  You'll  grow  wiser,"  said  Norton,  "  when 
you  have  had  your  fingers  burned  a  few 
times." 

The  tone  of  cool  indifference  to  her  subjects 
of  interest,  of  slight  displeasure  at  her  prefer- 


TRADING.  109 

ring  them  to  his,  went  to  Matilda's  heart.  So 
also  it  tried  her  greatly,  to  see  for  the  rest  of 
the  evening  Norton  and  Judy  in  high  con 
fabulation  over  the  catalogues  and  the  green 
house.  She  felt  shut  out  from  it,  and  a  little 
from  Norton  himself.  It  was  hard  to  bear; 
and  once  and  again  she  could  not  help  the 
tears  rising  to  her  eyes.  She  got  rid  of  them, 
she  thought,  cleverly,  without  any  one  being 
the  wiser;  but  David  Bartholomew  had 
marked  it  all.  He  had  not  said  a  word,  how 
ever  ;  and  Matilda  went  early  up  to  bed ; 
marvelling  anew  that  it  should  be  so  difficult 
to  do  right.  Why  must  this  greenhouse  busi 
ness  come  up  just  at  this  moment  ? 

She  had  a  week  to  think  about  it  and  grieve 
over  it.  The  boys  were  going  to  school  again 
now,  and  she  saw  but  little  of  them.  Judy  had 
masters  and  mistresses,  and  was  herself  much 
out  of  sight.  Matilda  was  to  be  under  Nor 
ton's  tutelage,  it  had  been  agreed  ;  and  accord 
ingly  he  had  put  certain  books  in  her  hands 
and  pointed  out  certain  tasks;  and  Matilda 


HO  TRADING. 

laid  hold  of  them  with  great  zeal.  With  so 
much,  indeed,  that  difficulties,  if  there  were 
any,  disappeared  ;  and  Norton  had  little  to  do 
beyond  finding  out  that  she  was,  as  he  ex 
pressed  it,  "  all  right,"  and  giving  her  new 
work  for  the  next  day.  So  went  the  wrck ; 
very  busy,  and  very  happy  too ;  only  for 
Matilda's  being  shut  out  from  greenhouse 
pleasures  and  Judy  taken  into  Norton's  part 
nership. 


CHAPTER   V. 

T)  UT  the  next  Sunday  had  a  new  joy  for 
her.  Mr.  Wharncliffe  informed  her  after 
school-time,  that  he  had  found  a  lodging 
which  he  thought  would  do  nicely  for  her 
poor  friends.  All  Matilda's  troubles  fled  away 
like  mist  before  the  sun,  and  her  face  lighted 
up  as  if  the  very  sun  itself  had  been  shining 
into  it.  Mr.  Wharncliffe  went  on  to  tell  her 
about  the  lodging.  It  was  near,  but  not  in,  that 
miserable  quarter  of  the  city  where  Sarah  and 
her  mother  now  lived.  It  was  not  in  a  tene 
ment  house  either;  but  in  a  little  dwelling 
owned  by  an  Irishman  and  his  wife  who 
seemed  decent  people.  He  was  a  mechanic, 
and  one  room  of  their  small  house  they  were 
accustomed  to  let,  to  help  pay  their  rent. 
"  Is  it  furnished,  Mr.  Wharncliffe  ?  " 


112  TRADING. 

"  No ;  entirely  bare." 

"How  large  is  it?" 

"  Small.  Not  so  large  by  one-third  as  the 
room  where  they  are  living  now." 

"  Can  T  go  and  see  it  ?  " 

"  Yes.  there  is  no  difficulty  about  that.  1 
will  go  with  you  to-morrow,  if  you  like." 

"  And  how  much  is  the  rent,  Mr.  Wharn- 
cliilii  ?  " 

"  One  dollar  a  week.  The  woman  was 
willing  to  let  the  room  to  Mrs.  Staples,  because 
I  was  making  the  bargain  and  understood  to 
be  security  for  her ;  only  so." 

"  Then  we  will  go  to-morrow,  sir,  shall  we, 
and  see  the  room  and  see  what  it  wants  ?  and 
perhaps  you  will  shew  me  that  place  where 
you  said  I  could  get  furniture  cheap  ?  " 

This  was  agreed  upon.  To  Matilda's  very 
great  surprise,  David,  when  he  heard  her 
news,  said  he  would  go  too.  She  half  ex 
pected  he  would  get  over  the  notion  by  the 
time  he  got  home  from  school  on  Monday; 
but  no;  lie  said  \w  wanted  a  walk  and  he 
would  see  the  place  with  IHT. 


TRADING.  113 

The  place  was  humble  enough.  A  poor 
little  house,  that  looked  as  if  its  more  aspir^ 
ing  neighbours  would  certainly  swallow  it  up 
and  deny  its  right  to  be  at  all ;  so  low  and 
decrepit  it  was,  among  better  built  if  not 
handsome  edifices.  Street  and  surroundings 
were  dingy  and  mean ;  however,  when  they 
went  in  they  found  a  decent  little  room  under 
the  sloping  roof  and  with  a  bit  of  blue  sky 
visible  from  its  dormer  window.  It  was 
empty  and  bare. 

"  Thin,  we  always  has  rispictable  lodgers," 
said  the  good  woman,  who  had  taken  her 
arms  out  of  a  tub  of  soapsuds  to  accompany 
the  party  upstairs ;  "  and  the  room  is  a  very 
dacent  apartment  entirely  ;  and  warrm  it  is, 
and  quite.  An'  we  had  a  company  o'  chil- 
dhren  in  one  o'  the  houses  adjinin',  that 
bothered  the  life  out  o'  me  wid  their  hollerin* 
as  soon  as  ever  we  histed  the  winders  in  the 
summer  time ;  but  the  father  he  died,  and  the 
mother,  she  was  a  poor  ]$:ind  of  a  body  that 
couldn't  seem  to  get  along  any  way  at  all  at 


114  TRADING. 

all ;  and  I  believe  she  thried,  an'  she  didn't 
succade,  the  poor  craythur!  an'  she  just  faded 
away,  like,  and  whin  she  couldn't  stan'  no 
longer,  she  was  tuk  away  to  the  'ospital ;  and 
the  chillen  was  put  in  the  poor-us,  or  I  don't 
just  know  what  it  is  they  calls  the  place  ;  and 
it  was  weary  for  them,  but  it  was  a  good  day 
for  meself  at  the  same  time.  An'  the  place  is 
iligant  and  quite  now,  sir.  An'  whin  will  the 
lady  move  in,  that  you're  wantin'  the  room 
for?" 

"  As  soon  as  it  can  be  ready  for  her,  Mrs. 
Leary." 

"  Thin  it's  ready !  What  would  it  be 
wantin'  ?  " 

"  We  shall  need  to  move  in  some  furniture, 
I  suppose,  and  a  little  coal.  Where  will  that 

go?" 

«  Coal,  is  it  ?  Sure  there's  the  cellar.  An' 
an  iligant  cellar  it  is,  and  dhry,  and  places 
enough  for  to  put  her  coal  in.  It'll  hould  all 
she'll  want,  Til  engage." 

"  It  holds  yours  too,  I  suppose?  " 


TRADING.  115 

"  Why  wouldn't  it?  But  we'll  never  inter- 
fare  for  that ;  small  wisdom  !  " 

Mr.  Wharncliffe  chose  to  go  down  and  see 
the  cellar.  David  and  Matilda  spent  the  time 
in  consultation.  Mr.  Wharncliffe  came  back 
alone. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  how  do  you  like  it  ?  " 
"  Very  much  ;  but  Mr.  Wharncliffe,  it  is  not 
very  clean." 

"  Sarah  will  soon  change  that." 
"  Sarah  ?  Won't  her  mother  help  ?  " 
"  Mrs.  Staples  is  unable  for  hard  work.     She 
has  had  illness  which  has  disabled  her ;  and  I 
fancy  the  damp  cellar  she  has  been  living  in 
has  made  matters  wrorse.     But  Sarah  likes  to 
be  as  clean  as  she  can." 

"  Well,  she  can  now,"  said  Matilda  glee 
fully.  "  Mr.  Wharncliffe,  don't  you  think 
they  want  a  little  bit  of  a  carpet  ?  " 

Mr.  Wharncliffe  shook  his  head.  "  They 
are  not  accustomed  to  it ;  they  do  not  need  it, 
Matilda.  You  will  have  enough  to  do  with 
your  money." 


Il6  TRADING. 

"  At  any  rate,  they  must  have  a  bureau, 
mustn't  they?" 

"  There  is  a  wall  cupboard,"  said  Mr. 
WharnclifTe.  "  That  will  be  wanted,  I  sup 
pose,  for  crockery  and  stores.  What  would  a 
bureau  be  useful  for  ?  " 

«  Clothes." 

"  They  have  not  a  drawer  full,  between 
them." 

"But  they  will  have?  They  must,  Mr. 
Wharncliffe.  I  am  going  to  get  them  some, 
ttayn'tl?" 

Mr.  Wharncliffe  looked  round  the  little 
oom,  and  smiled  as  he  looked  at  Matilda 
vgain.  "There  is  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
your  money,  I  told  you,"  he  said.  "  Let  us 
reckon  up  the  indispensable  things  first."  He 
took  out  his  note  book. 

"  Coals  are  one  thing,"  said  Matilda. 
*  They  must  have  some  coals  to  begin  with." 

"  Coals  "  —  repeated  Mr.  Wharncliffe,  noting 
it  down. 

"  Have  they  a  stove  that  will  do  ?  " 


TRADING.  H7 

"  I  am  afraid  not.  I  will  try  and  find  a 
second-hand  one." 

"  A  table,  and  two  or  three  chairs." 

Those  went  down  in  the  list. 

"  And,  O,  Mr.  Wharncliffe,  a  tea-kettle! 
And  something  to  cook  meat  in,  and  boil 
potatoes." 

"  What  do  you  know  about  cooking  meat 
and  boiling  potatoes  ?  "  Mr.  Wharncliffe  asked, 
looking  amused.  "  Those  things  will  perhaps 
come  with  the  stove ;  and  at  any  rate  do  not 
cost  much." 

"  And  then,  some  decent  plates  and  cups 
and  saucers,  and  common  knives,  you  know, 
and  a  few  such  things." 

"  They  have  some  things  which  they  use 
now.  You  must  not  try  to  do  too  much. 
Remember,  there  are  other  people  who  want 
bread." 

"  Well  —  not  those  things  then,  if  you  think 
not,"  said  Matilda.  "  Bat  a  bedstead,  and  a 
comfortable  bed,  Mr.  Wharncliffe;  that  they 
must  have." 


Il8  TRADING. 

"  How  about  the  two  boys?  " 

"  They  must  have  another." 

"Blankets  and  sheets  and  pillows?" 

"  Yes,  sir;  and  pillow  cases.  I  can  make 
those.  Do  they  cost  a  great  deal  ?  " 

"  I  think  not  —  if  you  will  let  me  buy 
them." 

"O  thank  you,  sir!  I  have  got  money 
enough,  I  guess." 

"Mrs.  Staples  will  make  them.  But,  my 
dear,  coals,  and  a  stove,  and  table  and 
chairs  and  bedstead  and  bedding,  will  make 
a  hole  in  your  little  stock.  Let  us  see.  I  will 
undertake  the  stove  and  the  coals,  and  get 
your  beds  for  you.  Chairs  and  table  and  bed 
ding,  I  leave  to  you." 

"  Then  put  down  some  cups  and  plates, 
please,  sir ;  or  I  will  make  the  list  when  I  go 
home." 

"  We  can  manage  it,  I  think,"  said  David. 
"  You  know,  I  am  bound  to  come  in  for  my 
share.  Where  can  we  get  this  second-hand 
furniture  ?  " 


TRADING.  119 

Mr.  Wharncliffe  led  the  way  to  the  place. 
What  a  disagreeable  place,  Matilda  thought. 
Dirty,  dusty,  confused,  dilapidated,  worn  ;  at 
least  such  was  the  look  of  a  majority  of  the 
articles  gathered  there.  However,  therein  lay 
their  advantage ;  and  presently  in  the  eager 
ness  of  hunting  out  the  things  that  she 
wanted,  Matilda  half  lost  sight  of  the  uncom 
fortable  character  of  her  surroundings.  A 
table,  strong  yet,  though  its  paint  was  all 
gone,  and  chairs  of  similar  qualifications, 
were  soon  secured.  A  bedstead  too,  which 
was  quite  respectable ;  and  Mr.  Wharncliffe 
explained  that  some  bed-tickings  could  be 
filled  with  straw,  for  beds  and  pillows.  A 
little  chest  of  drawers  with  some  difficulty 
was  found,  to  be  had  for  a  few  shillings ;  and  a 
stove.  Now  this  last  gave  Matilda  unlimited 
satisfaction  ;  for  it  was  a  tidy  little  stove,  had 
two  or  three  cooking  utensils  belonging  to  it, 
and  an  oven  which  the  shopman  assured  them 
would  bake  "first-rate."  In  that  stove  and 
hardware  Matilda's  fancy  seemed  to  see  whole 


120  TRADING. 

loads  of  comfort  for  Sarah  and  her  mother. 
A  happy  child  was  she  when  they  left  the 
shop. 

"  I  believe  that  is  all  we  can  do  this  after 
noon,  Tilly,"  said  her  friend. 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  think  we  have  done  a  great 
deal.  I  thank  you,  sir." 

He  smiled  and  turned  off  to  go  his  way 
alone ;  while  David,  who  had  been  much 
struck  with  the  sweet  gracefulness  of  Ma 
tilda's  manner,  walked  beside  her;  thinking, 
perhaps,  that  Mrs.  Laval's  adopted  child  was  a 
different  person  from  what  he  had  fancied. 

"  What  shall  /  do,  now,  Matilda  ?  "  he 
asked  presently. 

"  I  don't  know.  O  David,  I  am  very  much 
obliged  to  you  for  coming  with  me." 

"  That  won't  help  your  poor  people  though," 
said  he  smiling.  "  What  more  do  you  want 
to  do,  or  to  get,  for  them  ?  " 

"  Something  to  make  a  decent  dress  or 
two,"  Matilda  said  confidentially  ;  "  but  1 
can  do  that  myself.  I  don't  know,  David ! 


TRADING.  121 

things  puzzle  me.  Mr.  Wharncliffe  says  I 
must  not  try  to  do  too  much,  because  there 
are  other  poor  people  that  suffer,  and  want 
the  money." 

"  There  are  so  many,  that  all  your  money 
is  but  a  very  little  drop  on  a  great  desert, 
Matilda." 

"  But  that  one  drop  will  make  one  spot  of 
the  desert  better,  David." 

"  Yes." 

"  Just  a  little  —  twenty  or  thirty  dollars  — 
will  do  a  great  deal  for  these  poor  people. 
And  then,  if  Sarah  learns  to  work  on  a 
machine,  you  know,  and  she  and  her  mother 
get  better  pay  and  better  work,  they  will  be 
able  to  take  care  of  themselves  for  ever  after." 

"  That's  good  sense,"  said  David.  "  But 
just  think  of  all  that  row  of  tenement 
houses." 

"  David,"  said  Matilda  solemnly,  "  don't 
you  think  it  is  wrong  ?  " 

"What?" 

"  That  people  should  be  so  poor,  and  live 
in  such  places  ?  " 


122  TRADING. 

"  I  suppose  it  is  people's  own  fault,  a  good 
deal." 

"  But  no,  very  often  it  isn't.  Now  Mrs. 
Staples  used  to  be  a  great  deal  better  oil'; 
but  her  husband  died,  and  she  got  sick,  and 
so  she  came  down  to  this." 

"But  where  is  the  wrong,  then?"  said 
David. 

"  Why,  just  think  how  much  money  there 
is,  and  what  it  might  do  if  people  trird. 
Suppose  everybody  did  all  he  could,  David  ? 
Suppose  every  one  did  all  he  could?" 

"  As  you  are  doing.  But  then  where  should 
we  stop  ?  " 

'•  I  wouldn't  stop,  till  everybody  that  wasn't 
wicked  was  comfortable." 

"  No,  no.  I  mean,  where  would  you  stop 
in  your  own  giving  or  spending?  " 

"  1  don't  know,"  said  Matilda,  looking  down 
on  the  ground  and  thinking  very  hard  as  she 
walked.  "  I'll  tell  you,  David.  I  think  the 
money  ought  to  go  to  whoever  wants  it 


TRADING.  '  123 

«  Who  is  to  settle  that  ? "  said  David 
laughing. 

They  had  got  into  deep  waters  of  Christian 
ethics ;  and  it  was  no  wonder  if  even  the 
theory  of  navigation  was  difficult.  It  served 
them  for  matter  of  busy  discussion  till  they 
arrived  at  home.  Norton  and  Judy  were  just 
consulting  over  some  greenhouse  plants  in 
the  hall.  It  gave  Matilda  no  pang.  She 
passed  them,  with  her  own  little  heart  so  full 
of  pleasure  that  seemed  far  richer  and 
sweeter,  that  she  thought  there  was  no  com 
parison. 

The  pleasure  lasted;  for  in 'a  day  or  two 
there  came  a  great  package  for  Matilda  which 
turned  out  to  be  the  sheeting  and  muslin  Mr. 
Wharncliffe  had  promised  to  get  for  her. 
Matilda  had  to  explain  what  all  this  coarse 
stuff  meant,  coming  to  Mrs.  Lloyd's  elegant 
mansion ;  and  Mrs.  Laval  then,  amused 
enough,  let  her  maid  cut  out  the  sheets  and 
pillowcases  which  Matilda  desired  to  make ; 
and  for  days  thereafter  Matilda's  room  looked 


124  TRADING. 

like  a  workshop.  She  was  delightfully  busy. 
Her  lessons  took  a  good  deal  of  time  and 
were  eagerly  attended  to ;  and  then,  at  any 
hour  of  the  day  when  she  was  free,  Matilda 
might  have  been  found  sitting  on  a  low  seat 
and  stitching  away  at  one  end  of  a  mass  of 
coarse  unbleached  cloth  which  lay  on  the 
floor.  Mrs.  Laval  looked  in  at  her  and 
laughed  at  her ;  sometimes  came  and  sat 
there  with  her.  Matilda  was  in  great  state  ; 
with  her  workbox  by  her  side,  and  her  watch 
in  her  bosom  warning  her  when  it  was  time 
to  leave  off  work  and  get  ready  to  go  down 
stairs. 

She  was  busy  as  usual  one  afternoon,  when 
she  was  summoned  down  to  see  company; 
and  found  with  a  strange  delight  that  it  was 
her  two  sisters.  Mrs.  Laval  had  received 
them  very  kindly  and  now  gave  Matilda  per 
mission  to  take  them  up  to  her  room,  where, 
as  she  said,  they  could  have  a  good  talk  and 
no  interruption.  So  upstairs  they  all  three 
went;  Matilda  had  hardly  spoken  to  them  til 


TRADING.  125 

they  were  in  her  room  and  the  door  shut- 
Then  at  first  they  sat  down  and  used  their 
eyes. 

"  What  in  the  world  are  you  doing  ?  "  said 
Anne.  "  Do  they  make  you  the  seamstress  of 
the  family?" 

"  Seamstress  ?  O  Anne,  I  am  doing  this 
for  myself." 

"Do  you  sleep  on  sheets  like  that?"  said 
Letitia  inquisitively.  "  They  don't,  I'll  be 
bound." 

"  Sheets  ?  what  do  you  mean  ?  O  Letty,  I 
am  not  doing  these  for  myself" 

"  You  said  you  were." 

"  For  myself — yes,  in  a  way.  I  mean,  I 
am  doing  this  work  for  my  own  pleasure;  not 
for  my  own  bed.  It  is  for  some  poor  people." 

"  For  some  poor  people,"  Letty  repeated. 
"  I  think  Mrs.  Laval  might  have  let  one  of 
her  servants  do  it,  if  she  wanted  to  be  chari 
table,  or  hire  it  done,  even ;  and  not  save  a 
penny  by  setting  you  at  it." 

"  She  did  not  set  me  at  it,"  said  Matilda  in 


126  TRADING. 

despair.  "  O  you  don't  understand.  She  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it  at  all." 

"  Are  these  yours,  then?  " 

«  Yes." 

"  You  bought  them  and  paid  for  them  ?  " 

"  Yes.  At  least,  a  friend  bought  them  for 
me,  but  I  am  going  to  pay  him  the  money 
back." 

"  Is  it  your  own  money  ?  " 

"  Why  yes,  Anne  ;  whose  should  it  be  ?" 

"  So  you  have  more  than  you  want,  and 
can  actually  throw  it  away  ?  " 

"  Not  throw  it  away,  Anne ;  for  these  peo 
ple,  that  these  sheets  are  for,  are  miserably 
off.  You  would  think  so,  if  you  saw 
them." 

"  I  don't  want  to  see  anybody  worse  off 
than  myself,"  said  Letitia.  "  Why,  what  is 
that  the  child  has  got  in  her  bosom,  hanging 
to  that  ribband.  What  is  it  ?  —  a  watch,  I 
declare  !  Gold  ?  is  it  a  gold  watch  really  ? 
Think  of  it,  Anne!" 

"  It  was  one  of  my    Christmas  presents/' 


TRADING.  127 

said  poor  Matilda,  hardly  knowing  what  to 
say. 

"  How  many  other  presents  did  you  have  ?  " 

Matilda  had  to  tell,  though  she  had  a  feel 
ing  it  would  not  be  to  the  gratification  of  her 
sisters.  They  listened  and  looked,  said  little, 
but  by  degrees  drew  out  from  her  all' the 
history  of  the  evening's  entertainment. 

"  That's  the  way  she  lives,"  said  Letitia  to 
Anne.  "  That's  the  way  she  is  going  on ; 
while  you  and  I  are  making  people's  dresses." 

"  But  aren't  you  getting  on  well  ?  "  asked 
their  little  sister,  sorely  bestead  to  make  the 
conversation  pleasant  to  them. 

"  We  get  work,  and  we  do  it,"  said  Letitia. 
"  And  so  make  out  to  have  some  bread  and 
butter  with  our  tea." 

"  But  you  have  dinner,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  what  you'd  call  it,"  said 
Letitia.  "  What  do  you  have  for  dinner  ?  " 

"  O  the  boys  and  Judy  Bartholomew  and  I, 
we  have  our  dinner  at  one  o'clock." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  have  ? "  said  Letitia 
sharply.  "  What  did  you  have  to-day  ?  " 


128  TRADING. 

"  We  had  beefsteak." 

"  Not  all  alone,  I  suppose.  What  did  you 
have  with  it  ?  " 

"  We  had  oysters,"  said  Matilda  unwill 
ingly,  "  and  baked  potatoes,  and  rice,  and 
bananas  and  oranges." 

"  There  !  "  exclaimed  Letitia.  "  That's 
what  I  call  a  dinner.  What  do  you  suppose 
Anne  and  I  had  ?  " 

"  Hush,  Letty,"  said  Anne.  «  Whatever 
we  had,  it  was  our  own.  We  were  beholden 
to  nobody  for  it." 

"Have  you  seen  Maria  since  I  have?" 
Matilda  asked,  trying  to  make  a  diversion. 

"  No.  How  should  we  see  Maria  ?  We 
cannot  go  jaunting  about.  We  have  our  work 
to  do." 

"  But  it  is  nice  work.  I  should  think  you 
would  be  very  glad  to  have  it,"  Matilda 
ventured. 

"  Yes,  we  are,  of  course,"  said  Anne  ex 
pressively.  "  People  must  live.  How  much 
did  your  watch  cost  ?  " 


TRADING.  129 

Very  unwillingly  Matilda  named  the  sum, 
which  Norton  had  told  her.  The  two  sisters 
looked  at  each  other  and  rose  to  depart. 

"But  you  are  not  going?  "  cried  Matilda, 
"  You  haven't  said  anything  to  me  yet.  And 
I  have  not  seen  you  for  ever  so  long." 

"  We  could  not  say  anything  that  would 
be  interesting  to  you,"  Anne  answered. 
"  And  we  have  to  keep  at  our  work,  you 
know.  We  are  busy." 

"  So  am  I  busy,"  said  Matilda ;  "  very ; 
with  my  lessons  and  my  other  things  I  have 
to  do." 

"  And  parties,"  added  Letitia,  "  and  poor 
people.  How  were  you  dressed  at  the  party, 
Matilda  ?  " 

"  Yes,  let  us  see  your  dress,"  said  Anne 
sitting  down  again. 

They  scanned  and  measured  and  examined 
the  dress,  stuff  and  work,  with  business  as 
well  as  with  curious  eyes  ;  Matilda  saw  they 
were  taking  hints  from  it.  That  led  to  the 
display  of  her  whole  wardrobe.  It  was  not 


130  TRADING. 

agreeable  to  Matilda  ;  she  had  a  certain  feel 
ing  that  it  was  not  improving  her  sisters' 
peculiar  mood  of  feeling  towards  her ;  how 
ever,  it  seemed  to  be  the  one  way  in  which 
she  could  afford  them  any  the  least  pleasure. 
So  silks  and  poplins  and  muslins,  all  her 
things,  were  brought  out  and  turned 
over;  the  fashion  and  the  work  minutely 
examined  and  commented  on;  the  price  de 
tailed  where  Matilda  happened  to  know  it. 

"  Well,  I  have  got  something  from  that," 
said  Anne,  when  at  last  the  show  was  done. 

"  Yes,"  echoed  Letitia  ;  "  I  never  could  make 
out  before,  just  how  that  sort  of  trimming 
was  managed.  Now  I  have  got  it," 

They  pulled  up  their  cloaks  again  and  tircl 
their  scarfs.  Matilda  looked  on  sorrowfully. 

"  I  suppose  it's  no  use  to  ask  you  to  come 
and  see  us,"  said  Letty. 

«  I  can't  come  often,"  Matilda  answered, 
"because,  you  know,  I  cannot  walk  there; 
and  I  cannot  have  the  carriage  except  now 
and  then." 


TRADING.  131 

"  How  do  you  suppose  we  get  along  with 
out  a  carriage  ?  "  said  Letty. 

"  You  are  older.  Oh  Anne  and  Letty  !  " 
cried  their  little  sister,  "  I  don't  know  why  I 
have  so  much  and  you  have  so  little ;  but  it 
isn't  my  fault." 

Tears  were  in  her  eyes;  but  her  sisters 
shewed  no  melting  on  their  part.  They  an 
swered,  that  nobody  supposed  it  was  her 
fault.  The  energy  of  Matilda's  hugs  and 
kisses  seemed  to  impress  them,  at  last. 

«  Tell  me!"  said  Anne,  holding  her  off  to 
look  at  her,  — "  are  you  happy  here  ?  Do 
they  treat  you  really  as  their  own  child? 
Would  you  like  to  come  back  to  us?  Be 
cause  if  you  would  —  " 

"  O  no,  no,  Anne !  yes,  they  do.  Yes,  I 
am  very  happy.  I  don't  want  anything  but 
what  I  have  got." 

"  Well,  then  you  are  to  be  envied,"  said 
Anne, relapsing  into  her  former  tone;  and  the 
two  went  away.  Matilda  saw  them  out  of 
the  front  door,  and  then  went  back  to  her 


132  TRADING. 

room  and  stood  at  the  window  a  long  time, 
looking  down  the  street  by  which  they  had 
gone.  Why  did  they  treat  her  so  ?  Why 
was  she  such  a  trouble  to  them?  They  were 
much  older  than  she,  and  her  home  sympa 
thies  had  always  been  more  particularly  with 
Maria  and  her  mother  in  the  old  days;  yet 
the  family  had  been  affectionate  and  harmo 
nious.  The  strange  barrier  which  her  pros 
perity  had  built  up  between  her  and  them 
was  quite  inexplicable  to  Matilda.  At  the 
same  time  she  was  filled  with  sorrow  for  the 
contrast  which  she  knew  they  felt  between 
her  circumstances  and  their  own.  She  mused, 
how  she  could  give  them  comfort  or  do  them 
good  in  any  way  ;  but  could  not  find  it.  She 
was  a  weak  little  child.  And  the  help  she 
was  giving  to  the  poor  street  sweeper  and  her 
mother  was  more  needed  and  better  bestowed 
there  than  in  any  other  direction.  What 
would  her  small  means  avail  towards  the 
wants  of  Anne  and  Letitia?  But  Matilda 
cried  about  it  some  sore  tears,  as  she  stood 


TRADING.  133 

by  her  window  in  the  growing  dusk.  Then 
she  went  back  to  the  joy  of  what  was  coming 
to  Sarah  and  her  mother  through  her  instru 
mentality. 

That  joy  grew  sweeter  and  sweeter  every 
day.  The  sheets  and  pillowcases  were  fin 
ished.  The  furniture  and  the  stove  were 
moved  in.  The  straw  beds  Mr.  Wharncliffe's 
care  had  provided  were  in  readiness.  David 
and  Matilda  went  again  to  look  at  the  room ; 
and  cold  and  dull  though  it  was  with  no  fire 
in  the  stove,  there  was  great  promise  of  com 
fort, 

"  Now,  David,"  said  Matilda,  after  she  had 
turned  round  and  round,  surveying  every  side 
and  corner  of  the  room  again  and  again,  — 
"  don't  you  think  we  might  put  a  little  comfort 
inside  that  cupboard  ?  " 

;i  Of  what  sort  ?  "  said  David  smiling. 

"  It's  bare/'  said  Matilda. 

"  Of  everything." 

"  Yes.  Well,  of  course  it  wouldn't  do  to 
put  any  eatable  things  here,  till  just  the  day 


134  TRADING. 

they  are  coming.     0  David !  —  a  thought  has 
just  struck  me." 

«  Go  on,"  said  David,  smiling  again.  "  The 
thoughts  that  strike  you  are  generally  very 
good  thoughts." 

"  Perhaps  you  will  laugh  at  me.  But  I 
will  tell  you  what  I  was  thinking.  Mr. 
WharnclifFe  says  we  must  not  do  too  much 
at  once ;  but  I  should  like,  David,  to  have  a 
nice  little  supper  ready  for  them  the  day  they 
move  in.  I  don't  suppose  they  have  had  one 
nice  supper  this  winter." 

"Broiled  oysters  and  salad?"  said  David. 

"  No  indeed ;  you  know  what  sort  of  a 
supper  I  mean/' 

"  What  would  you  get?  for  instance?" 

"  Let  me  see,"  said  Matilda,  speaking 
slowly  and  considering  the  matter  intently. 
"Some  tea  there  should  be,  of  course  ;  and 
sugar.  And  milk.  Then,  some  bread  and 
butter  —  and  herring — and  perhaps,  a  loaf 
of  gingerbread." 

"  What  made  you  think  of  herring  ?  "  said 


TRADING.  135 

David,  looking  very  much  amused  and  curi 
ous. 

"  O,  I  know  such  people  like  them  very 
much,  and  they  cost  almost  nothing." 

"  If  we  are  giving  them  a  supper,  I  should 
say,  give  them  something  that  costs  a  little 
more  —  something  they  could  not  get  for 
themselves." 

"  O  these  people  don't  get  even  herring, 
David." 

"  What  do  you  suppose  they  live  upon  ?  " 

"  Bread,  —  and  —  I  really  don't  know, 
David!  In  the  country,  they  would  have 
cheese,  and  sometimes  fish,  I  suppose ;  but 
these  people  are  too  poor  even  for  that." 

"  That's  being  poorer  than  anybody  ought 
to  be,"  said  David.  "  I  go  in  for  the  supper. 
It's  fun.  I  tell  you  what,  Tilly,  —  I'll  stand 
a  beefsteak." 

"  O  thank  you,  David !  But  —  there  are 
so  many  more  that  want  it,"  said  Matilda, 
looking  sober  and  prudent  in  odd  contrast 
with  her  years. 


136  TRADING. 

"  We  can't  help  them  too,"  said  David. 

"  Better  keep  the  beefsteak,  I  guess,"  said 
Matilda.  "  O  David,  I  know !  Potatoes !  " 

"  What  of  potatoes  ?  " 

"  Just  what  they  want.  Sure  to  want  them, 
you  know ;  and  exactly  the  thing.  Let  us 
have  a  good  sack  of  potatoes." 

David  seemed  to  be  so  much  amused  that 
he  could  hardly  keep  to  the  practical  sober 
ness  of  the  thing.  However  he  agreed  to  the 
potatoes.  And  he  and  Matilda,  moved  by 
one  impulse,  set  off  for  a  hardware  store 
down  in  one  of  the  avenues,  not  far  to  seek  ; 
and  there  spent  a  most  delicious  half  hour. 
They  chose  some  common  cups  and  saucers 
and  plates;  a  yellow  pitcher,  a  sugar  bowl 
and  one  or  two  dishes  ;  half  a  dozen  knives  and 
forks  and  spoons.  It  was  difficult  to  stop  in 
their  purchases,  for  the  poor  friends  they  were 
thinking  of  had  nothing.  So  a  tin  tea-pot 
was  added  to  the  list. 

"O  David!"  Matilda  exclaimed  again  — 
a  we  ought  to  have  some  soap." 


TRADING.  137 

"  I  dare  say,"  said  David  dryly.  "  But  we 
do  not  get  that  here." 

"  No ;  but  seeing  that  toilet  soap  put  me  in 
mind  of  it.  We  get  that  at  the  grocer's." 

"  It  won't  do  for  us  to  send  in  our  grocer's 
stores  just  yet.  When  do  your  people  come 
to  take  possession  ?  " 

"  Next  week,  I  think.  O  no ;  not  till  the 
very  day,  David.  Now  is  there  anything 
else  we  ought  to  get  here  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know !  "  said  David.  "  I  could 
think  of  a  great  many  things ;  but  as  you 
say,  we  must  not  do  too  much." 

"  What  did  you  think  of?  " 

"  Nearly  everything  you  see  here,"  said 
David.  "  It  seems  to  me  they  must  want 
everything.  A  coffee  pot,  for  instance ;  and 
lamps,  and  cooking  utensils,  and  brooms  and 
brushes  and  tubs  and  coal  scuttles." 

"  O  David,  stop  !  They  can  make  coffee  in 
the  tea-pot." 

"  Bad  for  the  coffee  I  should  say ! " 
David  responded,  shrugging  his  shoulders. 


138  TRADING. 

"  And  lamps  ?  They  cannot  buy  oil.  I 
guess  they  go  to  bed  when  it  grows  dark.*' 

"  Do  they  !  Great  loss  of  time,  for  people 
who  live  by  their  labour." 

"  And  a  tea-kettle,  and  a  frying  pan,  and  a 
water  pot,  came  with  the  stove,  you  know/' 

"  What  can  they  cook  in  a  frying  pan  — 
besides  fish  ?  " 

"  O  a  great  many  things.  But  they  can't 
get  the  things,  David;  they  don't  want  ways 
to  cook  them." 

"  Must  be  a  bad  thing  to  be  so  poor,"  said 
David. 

"  Mustn't  it !  And  there  are  so  many.  It 
is  dreadful." 

"  Don't  seem  to  me  it  ought  to  be,"  said 
David. 

"  That  is  what  I  think,"  said  Matilda. 
"And  O  David,  —  don't  laugh  at  me  as 
Norton  does,  —  it  seems  to  me  it  needn't  be. 
If  other  people  would  do  without  having 
everything,  these  people  need  not  want  every 
thing." 


TRADING.  139 

David  did  smile,  though,  at  Matilda's  sum 
mary  way  of  equalizing  things. 

"  What  would  you  be  willing  to  go  with 
out?  "  he  asked.  "  Come,  Tilly;  what  of  all 
we  have  had  to-day  ?  " 

"  A  great  deal,"  said  the  little  political 
economist  steadily. 

"  Meringues  and  bananas  ?  for  instance." 

"  Why  yes,  David,  and  so  would  you,  if  it 
was  to  give  somebody  else  a  dinner." 

But  here  they  remembered  that  the  shop 
man  was  still  waiting  their  orders,  and  they 
left  talking  to  attend  to  business.  David 
began  apparently  to  amuse  himself.  He 
bought  a  salt  cellar,  and  a  broom ;  and  to 
Matilda's  mingled  doubt  and  delight,  a  rock 
ing  chair.  And  then  they  ordered  the  things 
home  and  went  home  themselves. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

r  I  ^HE  arrangements  were  all  made;  the 
room  was  ready ;  the  cupboard  was 
stocked  with  its  hardware ;  even  a  carpet  lay 
on  the  floor,  for  Mrs.  Lloyd  having  heard 
from  David  a  laughing  declaration  of  Ma 
tilda's  present  longing  for  an  old  carpet,  had 
immediately  given  permission  to  the  children 
to  rummage  in  the  lumber  room  and  take 
anything  they  found  that  was  not  too  good. 
Matilda  was  very  much  afraid  there  would  be 
nothing  that  did  not  come  under  that  descrip 
tion  ;  however,  a  little  old  piece  of  carpet  was 
found  that  somehow  had  escaped  being 
thrown  away,  and  that  would  be,  she  judged, 
a  perfect  treasure  to  Mrs.  Staples ;  it  was  sent 
by  the  hands  of  a  very  much  astonished  foot 
man  to  Mrs.  Leary's  house,  and  by  Mrs. 


TRADING.  141 

Leary  herself  put  down  on  the  floor;  Matilda 
having  bargained  for  the  cleaning  of  the  floor 
as  a  preliminary. 

Her  imagination  dwelt  upon  that  carpet, 
and  the  furnished,  comfortable  look  it  gave 
the  room,  with  as  much  recurring  delight  as 
other  people  often  find  in  the  thought  of 
their  new  dresses  and  jewels.  With  more, 
perhaps.  Everything  was  ready  now.  Mr. 
WharnclifFe  was  engaged  to  tell  the  good 
news  to  Sarah  and  her  mother,  and  the  mov 
ing  was  to  take  place  on  Thursday  of  the 
next  week.  All  was  arranged ;  and  on  Mon 
day  Matilda  sickened. 

What  could  be  the  matter?  Nobody  knew 
at  first ;  only  it  was  certain  that  the  little  girl 
was  ill.  Dull  and  feverish  and  miserable, 
unable  to  hold  herself  up,  or  to  think  much 
about  anything  when  she  was  laid  in  bed.  It 
was  needful  to  send  for  the  doctor ;  and  Mrs. 
Laval  took  her  station  by  Matilda's  pillow. 

HowT  time  went,  for  some  days  thereafter, 
Matilda  but  dimly  knew.  She  was  conscious 


142  TRADING. 

now  and  then  of  being  very  sick,  heavy  and 
oppressed  and  hot ;  but  much  of  the  time  was 
spi-nt  in  a  sort  of  stupor.  Occasionally  she 
would  wake  up  to  see  that  Mrs.  Laval  was 
bending  tenderly  over  her,  offering  a  spoonful 
of  medicine  or  a  glass  of  apple  water;  it  was 
sometimes  night,  with  the  gas  burning  low, 
sometimes  the  dusk  of  evening;  sometimes 
the  cool  grey  of  the  morning  seemed  to  be 
breaking.  But  of  the  hours  between  such 
points  Matilda  knew  nothing;  she  kept  no 
count  of  days;  a  general  feeling  of  long 
weariness  and  dull  headaches  filled  up  all  her 
consciousness ;  she  reasoned  about  nothing. 

So  that  it  was  quite  a  new  experience,  at 
waking  one  morning,  to  feel  Mrs.  Laval's  lips 
pressed  to  hers  for  a  kiss,  and  to  hear  a  cheer 
ful  voice  say,  — 

"My  darling  is  better!" 

Matilda  looked  up. 

"  I  believe  I  have  been  sick,"  she  said,  in  a 
weak  little  voice. 

"Indeed    you    have,    darling  —  very    sick. 


TRADING.  143 

But    you    are     better    now.      How    do   you 
feel  ?  " 

"  Better,"  Matilda  answered  in  that  same 
faint,  thin  little  voice  ;  —  "  weak." 

"  Of  course  you  are  weak !  Here  is  some 
thing  to  make  you  stronger." 

Mrs.  Laval  brought  a  tea-cup  presently,  and 
fed  Matilda  with  soda  biscuit  dipped  in  tea  ; 
very  nice  it  seemed ;  and  then  she  went  off 
again  into  a  sweet  deep  sleep. 

When  she  awaked  from  this,  it  was  high 
day,  and  the  light  was  let  into  the  room  as  it 
had  not  been  for  a  good  while.  It  all  looked 
natural,  and  yet  new;  and  Matilda's  eyes 
went  from  one  object  to  another  with  a  sort 
of  recognizing  pleasure ;  feeling  languid  too, 
as  if  her  eyelids  could  just  keep  open  and 
that  was  all.  But  the  light  seemed  sweet. 
And  her  gaze  lingered  long  on  the  figure  of 
Mrs.  Laval,  who  was  standing  by  the  mantle- 
piece;  going  over  with  quiet  pleasure  every 
graceful  outline  and  pretty  detail ;  the  flow 
of  her  soft  drapery ;  the  set  of  the  dainty 


144  TRADING. 

little  French  muslin  cap  which  set  lightly  on 
her  hair.  Till  Mrs.  Laval  turned,  and  smiled 
to  see  her  eyes  open. 

"  Ready  for  breakfast  ?  "  she  said  gayly. 

"  1  don't  believe  I  could  get  up,  mamma," 
said  the  weak  little  voice. 

"  Get  up !  I  don't  believe  you  could !  But 
what  do  you  think  of  having  breakfast  in 
bed?  Wait;  you  shall  have  your  face  washed 
first." 

She  brought  a  basin  and  bathed  Matilda's 
face  and  hands,  first  with  water  and  then 
with  cologne.  It  was  pleasant  to  be  tended 
so,  and  the  fine,  soft,  sweet  damask  was 
pleasant,  with  which  the  drying  was  done. 
Then  Mrs.  Laval  rang  the  bell,  and  presently 
came  up  a  tray  which  she  took  from  the  ser 
vant's  hands  and  brought  to  the  bedside 
herself.  Then  Matilda  was  raised  up  and 
propped  up  with  pillows,  till  she  could  see 
what  was  on  the  plate. 

"  How  nice  that  cologne  is !  I  haven't  had 
breakfast  in  a  good  while  before,  have  I?" 


TRADING. 


r45 


"  No,  my  darling."  And  Mrs.  Laval  stooped 
to  press  her  lips  fondly.  "  What  do  you  say 
to  a  little  bit  of  roast  bird  ?  " 

Matilda  was  very  glad  of  it ;  and  she  en 
joyed  the  delicate  thin  slice  of  toast,  and  the 
fragrant  tea  out  of  a  sort  of  eggshell  cup; 
the  china  was  so  thin  it  was  semi-transparent. 
She  made  a  bird's  breakfast,  but  it  was  very 
good,  and  did  her  good. 

tk  Mamrna,"  she  said,  as  she  drank  the  last 
drops  from  that  delicate  cup,  —  "  it  must  be  a 
dreadful  thing  to  be  poor !  When  one  is  sick, 
I  mean." 

"  You  never  will  be,  darling,"  said  Mrs. 
Laval. 

She  was  slowly  but  surely  mending  all  that 
day.  The  next  morning  she  had  another 
roast  bird  for  breakfast,  and  could  eat  more 
of  it. 

"Norton    wants   to    see    you    dreadfully," 
Mrs.  Laval  said  as  she  was  feeding  her.  "  And 
so  does  David,  I  believe.     How  have  you  and 
David  got  to  be  such  good  friends  ?  " 
10 


146  TRADING. 

"  I  don't  know,  mamma.  I  like  David 
very  much." 

"  Do  you  ? "  said  Mrs.  Laval  laughing ; 
"  perhaps  that  is  the  reason.  Like  makes 
like,  they  say.  You  are  one  of  the  few  peo 
ple  that  like  David  Bartholomew1* 

"  Am  I  ?  Why,  mamma  ?  Don't  you  like 
him?" 

"  Certainly  ;  he  is  my  nephew.  I  ought  to 
like  him." 

"  But  that  don't  make  us  like  people,"  said 
Matilda  meditatively. 

"  What  ?  that  little  word  ought  ?  No,  1 
think  it  works  the  other  way." 

"  But  I  think  I  like  everybody,"  Matilda 
went  on.  "  Everybody  some.  I  don't  like 
all  people  one  as  much  as  another." 

"  No,"  said  Mrs.  Laval.  "  That  would  be 
too  indiscriminate.  Well,  David  likes  you. 
That  is  not  strange.  And  he  wants  to  see 
you." 

"  Yes,  and  Norton.  Mamma,  I  think  I 
would  like  better  to  be  up,  before  I  see  the 
boys." 


TRADING.  147 

"  T  shall  not  let  them  come  in  before  that." 

So  one  or  two  days  still  passed,  in  sleeping 
and  resting  and  waking  to  feel  stronger  every 
time ;  and  then  one  afternoon  Matilda  was 
taken  up  and  dressed  in  a  warm  wrapper, 
and  placed  in  a  delightful  easy  chair  which 
Mrs.  Laval  had  had  brought  up  for  her.  She 
felt  very  weak,  but  exceedingly  comfortable. 
Then  she  saw  the  door  of  her  room  slowly 
pushed  inwards,  and  the  bright  head  of  Nor 
ton  softly  advancing  beyond  it.  So  soon  as 
he  caught  sight  of  Matilda  in  her  easy  chair, 
he  came  in  with  two  bounds,  knelt  down  be 
fore  her,  and  taking  her  in  his  arms  kissed 
her  over  and  over. 

"  There  is  one  person  glad  to  see  you,"  re 
marked  Mrs.  Laval. 

Matilda's  eyes  were  glittering  with  tears ; 
she  said  not  a  word. 

"  Glad  ?  "  echoed  Norton.  "  Pink,  the  house 
has  been  too  stupid  for  anything  without 
you.  It's  astonishing,  what  a  difference  one 
girl  makes." 


148  TRADING. 

"  One  girl  — "  said  Mrs   Laval. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Norton.  "  I  didn't  say  any 
thing  about  the  other.  It  wouldn't  distress 
me  at  all  to  have  Judy  shut  up  in  her  room 
a  few  days." 

"  But  not  by  sickness!  "  said  his  mother. 

"  Not  particular  how,  mamma ;  do  Judy  no 
harm  either.  She  wants  taking  down  some 
how." 

"  Why,  Norton,"  said  Matilda,  "  I  thought 
you  were  so  busy  with  your  greenhouse,  you 
wouldn't  miss  me  much.  And  Judy  and  you 
were  getting  on  nicely  with  the  flowers,  I 
thought." 

"  Nicely ! "  repeated  Norton.  "  She  doesn't 
care  any  more  for  the  flowers  than  if  they 
were  grown  to  make  door  mats  of.  Green 
house  !  why,  it's  as  much  as  I  can  do  to  pre 
vent  her  pulling  all  the  buds  off;  and  when 
she's  got  them,  as  I  said,  she  don't  care  the  least 
for  them.  No  ;  the  one  thing  Judy  Bartholo 
mew  cares  for  is  mischief;  and  the  second  is 
her  own  way." 


TRADING.  149 

"  Gently,  Norton ! "  said  his  mother.  "  I 
know  somebody  else  that  likes  his  own 
way." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,  and  can't  get  it  —  worse 
luck ! " 

"  O  Norton  !  "  said  Matilda. 

"  Well  I'd  just  like  to  have  you  tell  me 
then,  how  I'm  to  get  Judy  Bartholomew  out 
of  my  greenhouse !  " 

"  How  did  you  get  her  in  ? "  asked  his 
mother. 

"  I  went  into  partnership  with  her." 

«  And  I  ask,  why  ?  " 

"  Because  she  had  money,  mamma ;  and  I 
wanted  the  greenhouse  in  order;  and  Pink 
wouldn't." 

"Couldn't"  —  said  Matilda.  She  did  not 
feel  like  using  many  words  just  then. 

"  Pink,  mamma,  is  the  very  worst  person  in 
the  world  about  having  her  own  way." 

"  And  the  very  best  person  in  the  world 
about  being  sick." 

"  How,     mamma  ? "     said     Matilda.      "  I 


150  TRADING. 

haven't  done  anything  at  all  but  lie  still  and 
be  taken  care  of. " 

"  Mamma,  she  looks  pale ;  and  her  voice 
sounds  thin ;  aren't  you  going  to  give  her 
something  to  strengthen  her  up?  " 

"  She  is  going  to  have  her  supper  in  a  few 
minutes." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  give  her?" 

"  Roast  oysters  and  bread  and  butter." 

"  That  sounds  jolly.  I'd  stay  and  have 
some  too  ;  only  I  have  got  to  see  a  fellow 
round  the  corner.  Good-bye,  Pink.  I'm  off. 
Eat  as  many  oysters  as  you  can  ! '' 

And  off  he  ran.  Matilda  was  disappointed ; 
she  was  very  fond  of  him,  and  she  thought  he 
might  have  liked  better  to  stay  with  her  this 
first  evening.  A  little  creeping  feeling  of 
homesickness  came  over  her;  not  for  any 
place  that  was  once  called  home,  but  for  the 
clinging  affection  of  more  hands  and  voices 
than  one. 

"  He's  a  boy,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Laval,  notic 
ing  her  look.  "  Boys  cannot  bear  to  be  shut 


TRADING.  151 

up,  even  with  what  they  love  the  best.  And 
you  are  a  girl — just  full  of  womanly  tender 
ness.  I  see  it  well  enough.  You  will  have 
something  to  bear  in  this  world,  my  child. 
Boys  will  be  boys,  and  men  will  be  men  ;  but 
Norton  loves  you  dearly,  for  all  that." 

"  I  know  he  does,  mamma,"  said  Matilda. 

But  when  a  few  minutes  later,  Mrs.  Laval 
was  called  downstairs  to  see  somebody,  the 
feeling  she  had  kept  back  rushed  upon  her  again. 
She  wanted  something  she  had  not  got.  And 
she  began  to  think  of  her  best  Friend.  Ma 
tilda  had  not  forgotten  him ;  yet  through 
these  days  of  sickness  and  weakness,  and  the 
constant  presence  of  somebody  in  her  room, 
she  had  missed  for  a  long  time  her  Bible  read 
ings  and  all  but  very  short  and  scattering 
prayer.  She  recollected  this  now  ;  and  long 
ing  after  the  comfort  of  a  nearer  thought  of 
God  and  closer  feeling  of  his  presence,  she 
got  up  out  of  her  chair  and  tottered  across 
the  room,  holding  by  everything  in  her  way, 
to  the  place  where  she  kept  her  Bible.  Once 


I52  TRADING. 

back  in  her  easy  chair,  she  had  to  rest  a  bit 
before  she  could  read ;  then  she  found  a  pla/e 
of  sweet  words  that  she  knew,  and  rested  her 
self  in  a  more  thorough  fashion  over  them. 

She  was  bending  down  with  her  volume 
in  her  hand  to  catch  the  fading  light  from  the 
window,  when  another  visiter  came  in.  It  was 
David  Bartholomew,  who  having  knocked 
and  fancied  that  he  heard  the  word  of  per 
mission,  walked  in  and  was  at  her  side  before 
she  knew  it.  Matilda  started,  and  then 
looked  very  much  pleased. 

"  You  are  not  strong  enough  to  be  study 
ing,"  David  said  kindly. 

u  O  I  am  not  studying." 

"  What  have  you  got  there  that  interests 
you  so  much,  then?  to  be  bending  over  it  like 
that." 

Now  Matilda  was  afraid  to  say  she  was 
reading  the  Bible,  knowing  in  what  abhor 
rence  David  held  part  of  her  Bible;  so  she 
answered  with  a  quick  sort  of  instinct,  "It 
was  only  a  chapter  in  Isaiah,  David." 


TRADING.  153 

"  Isaiah !  "  he  repeated  ;  "  our  Isaiah  ?  Let 
me  see,  please." 

He  took  the  book  and  looked  keenly  at  the 
page. 

"  What  interested  you  so  here,  Matilda?" 

"  I  was  reading  that  little  twelfth  chapter. 
I  was  thinking  of  those  *  wells  of  salvation.'  " 

She  was  trembling  with  the  fear  of  saying 
something  or  other  to  displease  him,  afraid 
to  answer  at  all ;  but  the  simplest  answer 
seemed  the  best ;  and  she  prayed  for  wisdom 
and  boldness.  David  was  looking  hard  at  the 
page,  and  alternately  at  her. 

"  It  is  our  Isaiah,"  he  said,  turning  the 
leaves  back  and  forward ;  "  it  is  our  Scrip 
tures  ;  but  not  the  Hebrew.  I  shall  learn  to 
read  the  Hebrew.  What  were  you  thinking 
about  the  '  wells  of  salvation,'  Matilda  ?  " 

Matilda  was  getting  very  nervous;  but  as 
before,  she  answered  simply  the  truth. 

"  I  was  thinking  how  sweet  the  water  is." 

"  You  ?  "  said  David,  with  a  depth  of  aston 
ishment  which  might  have  made  her  laugh 


154  TRADING. 

if  she  had  not  been  so  frightened.  "  You  ? 
what  do  you  know  of  them,  or  think  you 
know  ?  These  words  belong  to  the  time  of 
Messiah  ben  David." 

"  Yes,"  said  Matilda. 

"  What  do  you  think  you  know  about 
them?" 

Matilda  thought  within  herself  that  here 
was  the  end  of  David's  friendship  for  her. 
Her  heart  sank,  yet  she  spoke  as  before. 

"  I  have  drawn  water  out  of  them,  David ; 
and  I  know  that  the  water  is  sweet." 

He  stood  and  looked  at  her,  as  if  he  were 
full  of  something  to  say ;  but  perhaps  he 
guessed  at  her  reference,  or  perhaps  he  saw 
her  too  feeble  to  be  attacked  with  exciting 
topics.  He  shut  his  mouth  and  said  nothing; 
and  just  then  the  servant  entered  bearing  the 
tray  with  Matilda's  supper.  That  made  a 
nice  diversion.  I  think  David  was  glad  of  it. 
At  any  rate  he  made  himself  useful;  brought 
up  the  little  table  to  Matilda's  side ;  set  the 
tea-pot  out  of  her  way  and  spread  her  nap- 


TRADING.  155 

kin  on  her  lap.  Then,  hearing  that  Mrs. 
Laval  was  detained  downstairs,  he  took  the 
management  of  things  upon  himself.  He 
made  Matilda's  cup  of  tea;  he  spread  bread 
and  butter;  he  opened  oysters.  Nobody 
could  have  done  it  better ;  but  it  was  always 
acknowledged  that  David  Bartholomew  was 
born  a  gentleman.  Matilda  enjoyed  it  hugely. 
She  was  ready  for  her  oysters,  as  a  little 
convalescent  child  should  be ;  and  bread  and 
butter  was  good ;  but  to  have  David  helping 
her  and  ministering  to  her  gave  to  both  an 
exquisite  flavour.  He  was  so  nice  about  it, 
and  it  was  so  kind  of  him. 

"  That  other  supper  has  been  sadly  put  off, 
hasn't  it  ?  "  he  said  as  he  opened  Matilda's 
last  oyster. 

«  What  supper  ?  "  said  Matilda. 

"  The  supper  we  had  arranged  so  finely,  a 
long  while  ago.  The  celebration  of  your 
good  woman's  moving  in." 

"  My  good  woman  ?  —  O,  you  mean  Mrs. 
Staples.  She  hasn't  moved  in  yet  ?  " 


156  TRADING. 

"  No  !  we  waited  for  you  to  get  well." 

"Waited  all  this  while!"  said  Matilda. 
"  David,  I  wonder  when  I  shall  be  able  to  go 
out?" 

"  Not  in  a  good  while,  Tilly,  to  any  such 
entertainment  as  that.  I  dare  say  you  can 
go  driving  in  the  Park  in  two  or  three 
weeks." 

"  But  she  cannot  wait  all  that  while !  "  said 
Matilda;  and  then  she  stopped.  If  not,  then 
the  moving  of  Mrs.  Staples,  and  all  the 
delight  of  the  supper  to  be  prepared  for  her, 
and  the  pleasure  of  seeing  her  pleasure,  must 
be  for  others  ;  not  for  the  little  planner  and 
contriver  of  the  whole.  For  a  minute  Ma 
tilda  felt  as  if  she  could  not  give  it  up;  this 
rare  and  exquisite  joy ;  such  a  chance  might 
not  come  again  in  a  very  long  while.  She 
wanted  to  see  how  the  stove  would  work  ;  she 
wanted  to  hear  the  kettle  sing,  and  to  set  the 
table  with  the  new  cups  and  saucers,  and  to 
make  the  tea  that  first  time,  and  give  the  in 
comers  a  welcome.  Could  all  that  be  lost? 


TRADING.  157 

It  seemed  very  hard.  Matilda's  eyes  filled 
with  tears. 

"  What  is  the  matter?  "  said  David  kindly. 

Matilda  struggled  to  speak.  She  knew 
what  she  must  say;  but  at  first  she  could 
hardly  get  the  words  out.  She  hesitated, 
and  David  repeated  his  question. 

"  It  won't  do  for  them  to  wait  so  long,"  she 
said,  lifting  her  eyes  to  his  face. 

"  Who  ?  your  poor  people  there  ?  Well, 
it  does  seem  a  pity,  looking  at  the  place 
where  they  are  now." 

"  It  won't  do,"  Matilda  repeated.  "  It  is 
best  for  them  to  go  right  in,  David.  But  I 
can't  manage  it.  I  can't  do  anything." 

«  Will  you  trust  me  ?  " 

"  O  yes !  if  you'll  do  it.  But  won't  it  be  a 
great  trouble  to  you,  David  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  shall  like  it  capitally. 
You  tell  me  exactly  what  you  want  done, 
and  I'll  attend  to  it." 

"  O  thank  you  !  Then  you'll  have  to  get  the 
supper  things,  David." 


158  TRADING. 

"  Yes,  I  know  all  about  that." 

"  And  get  Mr.  Wharncliffe  to  tell  Mrs.  Sta 
ples." 

«  Yes." 

"  And  —  can  you  buy  some  calico  for 
me?" 

"  Certainly.  But  I'd  put  something  warmer 
on  them  than  calico,  Tilly." 

"What?" 

"I  don't  know,"  said  David  laughingly; 
"  I  don't  know  what  women  wear.  But  I 
suppose  I  can  find  out.  Something  warm, 
Tilly  ;  the  air  is  snapping  and  biting  out  of 
doors,  I  can  tell  you." 

"  O  well,  do  see  about  it  as  soon  as  you 
can,  David,  and  let  them  move  in  by  Satur 
day  ;  can't  you  ?  " 

David  promised.  And  when  he  was  gone, 
and  Matilda  was  alone  in  bed  again  at  night, 
she  fought  out  her  whole  fight  with  disap 
pointment.  Rather  a  hard  fight  it  was. 
Matilda  did  not  see  why,  when  she  was  about 
a  very  good  thing,  so  much  of  the  pleasure 


TRADING.  159 

of  it  should  have  been  taken  away  from  her. 
Why  could  not  her  sickness  have  been  delayed 
for  one  week  ?  and  now  the  very  flower  and 
charm  of  her  scheme  must  fall  into  the  hands 
of  others.  She  dwelt  upon  the  details,  from 
which  she  had  looked  for  so  much  pleasure, 
and  poured  out  hearty  tears  over  them.  She 
was  as  much  in  the  dark  nearly  as  Job  had 
been ;  as  much  at  a  loss  to  know  why  all 
this  should  have  befallen  her.  All  the  com 
fort  she  could  get  at  was  in  imagining  the 
scenes  she  could  not  now  see,  and  fancying 
all  over  and  over  to  herself  how  Sarah  and 
her  mother  would  look  and  feel. 

After  that  day  Matilda's  improvement  was 
steady.  Soon  she  had  Norton  and  Judy  and 
even  David  running  in  and  out  at  all  hours, 
to  see  her  or  to  tell  her  something. 

"  Great  news,"  said  Norton  bursting  in  as 
usual  one  evening.  "  What  do  you  think, 
Pink  ?  David  and  Judy  have  been  to  be 
catechized." 

"Catechized?"  Matilda  repeated.  "Do 
they  learn  the  catechism  ?  " 


160  TRADING. 

"  Not  yours,  I  promise  you,"  said  Norton. 
"  No,  not  exactly.  But  they  have  been  to  a 
Jewish  catechizing;  to  be  examined  in  the 
Jews'  Scriptures,  you  know,  and  all  that 
They  ought  to  have  been  catechized,  it 
seems,  when  they  were  younger ;  but  David 
and  Judy  have  been  travelling  about  and 
there  has  been  no  chance.  Now  they've  got 
it !  And  O  how  Davy  has  been  studying  his 
Bible." 

"  His  Bible  is  just  like  ours,  isn't  it?  —  all 
but  the  New  Testament  ?  " 

"  He  thinks  that's  a  pretty  large  «  all  but.' " 

"  But  the  rest  is  just  the  same  as  ours?  " 

"I  suppose  so;  yes,  I  believe  so.  And 
they  have  had  a  great  time,  and  Davy  has 
come  off  with  a  blue  ribband  or  something, 
and  been  greatly  distinguished." 

"  Well  ?  "  said  Matilda  eagerly. 

"  Well.  They  all  went  to  it,  grandma  and 
aunt  Judy,  and  they  don't  know  whether  they 
are  most  pleased  or  most  vexed." 

"Vexed?"  repeated  Matilda. 


TRADING.  l6l 

"  Yes.  You  see,  their  Jew  friends  and 
relations  are  getting  great  hold  of  Davy; 
and  now  I  suppose  he  will  be  more  of  a  Jew 
than  ever." 

"  How  will  that  make  him  different  ?  "  said 
Matilda,  puzzled. 

«  Different  ?  "  said  Norton.  "  Why,  you 
don't  think  Jews  are  like  all  the  rest  of  the 
world,  do  you  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  Matilda  answered.  "  I 
think  —  if  I  was  a  Jew  —  I  would  like  it." 

To  which  Norton  answered  at  first  with  a 
questioning  frown ;  then  cleared  his  brow 
and  laughed. 

"  You'd  like  anything  that  made  you  dif 
ferent  from  the  rest  of  the  world,"  he  said. 
"  But  you're  a  Pink !  and  that  makes  it  of 
course." 

"  You  used  to  say  I  was  a  brick,"  said  Ma 
tilda. 

"  So  you  are.  I'll  fight  any  boy  that  says 
you  aren't." 

But  that  made  Matilda  laugh  so  much  that 
11 


162  TRADING. 

Mrs.  Laval,  coming  in,  was  afraid  she  would 
fatigue  herself;  and  she  sent  Norton  away. 
Matilda  after  this  was  very  curious  and  a 
little  anxious  to  see  David,  and  find  out  what 
change  his  being  "  more  of  a  Jew  than  ever  " 
would  have  made  in  him.  When  he  came, 
she  could  not  find  any  change.  It  was  Sat 
urday  evening,  after  tea ;  so  rather  late.  He 
came  to  bring  her  the  news  she  wanted. 

"  Well,  it's  done,  Matilda,"  he  said  as  he 
entered. 

"  And  all  right,  David  ?  " 

"  Right  as  can  be.  Don't  you  get  excited, 
and  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it." 

"  You  are  very  kind,  David,"  said  Matilda, 
trying  to  be  quiet ;  but  there  were  two  pink 
spots  on  her  pale  cheeks. 

"  The  carpet  was  down,  and  made  the  place 
look  like  another  thing.  Then  Mrs.  Leary 
had  brightened  up  the  bureau  and  the  chairs 
and  table,  and  blacked  the  stove  and  made  a 
fire.  It  seemed  quite  like  a  home  waiting  for 
somebody.  Mrs.  Leary  folded  her  arms,  and 


TRADING.  163 

made  me  take  notice  what  she  had  done, 
and  '  expicted  I  would  consider  it,'  she  said." 

"  Expected  you  would  consider  it  ?  "  said 
Matilda. 

"  Yes.  Don't  you  know  what  that  means  ? 
Expected  I  would  pay  her  for  her  trouble." 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Matilda.     "  Did  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  of  course.  But  I  made  her  make  up 
the  bed  and  fill  the  kettle  before  she  had  done. 
'  An*  sure  it  was  iligant,  and  fit  for  society/ 
she  said ;  whatever  that  meant." 

"  Fit  for  company,  I  suppose,  David.  But 
who  made  the  coffee  ?  " 

"Wait  a  bit:  I'm  coming  to  that.  I  was 
in  a  puzzle  about  it;  for  I  wasn't  sure  of 
Mrs.  Leary,  and  Norton  and  I  didn't  know 
enough." 

"  Norton  ?  was  Norton  there  ?  " 

"  To  be  sure ;  at  first.  He  and  I  got  every 
thing  else  together.  Mrs.  Leary  had  washed 
the  china  and  the  tin  ware ;  and  we  bought 
cheese,  and  tea  and  coffee,  and  herring,  and 
buns,  and  gingerbread." 


164  TRADING. 

"  And  bread  ?  "  said  Matilda,  looking  in 
tensely  interested. 

"  No;  buns.  And  soap  we  ordered  in  too, 
Tilly ;  Norton  is  great  on  soap.  I  should 
never  have  thought  of  it.  And  when  we  had 
done  all  we  could  think  of,  we  sat  down  to 
watch  the  fire  and  guard  the  things  till  some 
body  came.  And  we  got  talking  about  some 
thing  else  and  forgot  where  we  were ;  when 
all  of  a  sudden  the  door  pushed  softly  open 
and  a  girl  came  in — " 

"  Sarah !  "  cried  Matilda. 

"  Wait.  There  came  in  this  girl,  and 
stood  there,  looking.  And  we  looked.  *  Is 
this  Mrs.  Leary's  ?  '  she  asked.  <  No,'  said 
I;  'the  rest  of  the  house  is.  Mrs.  Leary's,  I 
believe ;  but  this  room  belongs  to  Mrs.  Sta 
ples.'  'And  you're  Sarah,  aren't  you?' 
Norton  cried  out.  I  wish  you  had  seen  the 
girl,  Tilly  !  She  came  a  little  way  further  in, 
and  stopped  and  looked  round,  and  had  all 
the  work  in  the  world  to  keep  herself  from 
breaking  down  and  crying.  Her  face  flushed 


TRADING.  165 

all  over.  She  wanted  to  know  if  we  were 
sure  if  there  was  no  mistake  ?  So  I  told  her 
about  you,  and  how  you  were  sick,  and  how 
you  had  commissioned  us  to  get  ready  all 
these  things ;  and  Norton  shewed  her  where 
to  hang  her  bonnet  and  shawl ;  for  she  was  in 
a  bewildered  state.  And  then  I  bethought 
me  and  told  her  we  wanted  somebody  to 
make  the  coffee.  I  think,  Tilly,  she  was  as 
near  the  condition  of  Aladdin,  when  he  got 
into  the  magician's  cave,  as  ever  a  mortal 
could  be  in  this  actual  world.  But  she  went 
to  work,  and  that  helped  her  to  feel  she  was 
not  dreaming,  I  suppose.  She  made  the 
coffee,  —  and  all  the  while  I  could  see  her  fin 
gers  trembling;  —  and  she  cooked  the  herring; 
and  I  stood  it,  herring  smoke  and  all ;  it  was 
the  best  fun  I've  seen  this  winter  —  " 

"  Since  Christmas,"  Matilda  put  in,  but  her 
own  eyes  were  very  bright  and  glittering. 

"  Christmas  was  nothing  to  it!" 

"  I  wish  I  had  been  there." 

"  I  wish  you  had.     There  was  nothing  else 


1 66  TRADING. 

wanting.  And  I  wish  you  could  have  seen 
Sarah's  eyes ;  I  think  she  was  afraid  to  look 
around  her.  She  would  give  a  glance  at 
something,  the  chest  of  drawers,  or  the  bed, 
and  then  the  tears  would  spring  and  she 
would  have  just  as  much  as  she  could  do  to 
mind  her  cooking  and  not  break  down.  I 
didn't  know  coffee  smelt  so  good,  Tilly." 

"  Doesn't  it !  " 

"  You  know  about  that,  eh  ?  Well,  we 
were  all  ready,  and  Sarah  set  the  table,  but 
Norton  and  I  had  to  bring  out  the  buns  and 
gingerbread  and  the  cheese  ;  for  I  don't  think 
she  would  have  dared.  And  then  the  door 
opened  once  more,  and  in  came  Mr.  Wham- 
cliffe,  and  Sarah's  mother  and  those  two  poor 
little  imps  of  boys." 

"  I  don't  know  much  about  them,"  said 
Matilda. 

"  I  know  they  are  very  ragged.  Of  course, 
how  could  they  help  it  ?  The  mother  looked 
as  if  she  would  easily  fall  to  pieces  too.  But 
I  saw  the  smell  of  the  coffee  brightened  her  up." 


TRADING.  167 

"  And  then  you  came  away,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Yes,  of  course.  Mr.  Wharncliffe  just  saw 
that  everything  was  right  and  looked  after 
the  coal  and  things ;  and  then  we  left  them  to 
take  their  supper  in  peace." 

"  I'm  so  glad !  "  said  Matilda,  heaving  a 
deep  sigh.  "  And  I  am  very  much  obliged  to 
you,  David." 

"  For  nothing,"  said  David.  "  I  had  a  good 
time,  I  can  tell  you.  I  should  just  like  to  do 
the  whole  thing  over  again.  Why,  it  didn't 
cost  much." 

"  Only  Mr.  Wharncliffe  says  we  have  to 
be  very  careful  to  know  about  people  first, 
before  we  give  them  things ;  there  are  so 
many  deceivers." 

"  Yes,  I  know  that,"  said  David.  He  stood 
looking  into  the  light  and  thinking.  Matilda 
wondered  what  he  was  thinking  about;  she 
could  not  ask  him  as  she  would  Norton. 

"  It  isn't  right!"  he  broke  out. 

«  What,  David?" 

"  It  isn't  right  that  there  should  be  such  a 


168  TRADING. 

difference  in  people ;  we  here,  and  they 
there." 

"  Mr.  Wharncliffe  says  there  must  be  a 
difference.  Some  people  are  clever  and  in 
dustrious,  and  others  are  idle  and  lazy ;  and 
that  makes  differences." 

"  That  ought,"  said  David  ;  '•  but  then  the 
people  that  are  not  idle  or  lazy,  but  sick  or 
unfortunate,  like  these  people ;  they  ought  not 
to  be  left  in  hunger  and  cold  and  rags." 

"  So  I  think,"  said  Matilda  eagerly ;  and 
then  she  stopped ;  for  she  was  not  so  free  with 
David  as  to  tell  him  all  her  thoughts ;  at  least 
not  unless  he  asked  for  them. 

"  It  puzzles  me,"  David  went  on.  "  I  can't 
see  my  way  out  of  the  puzzle;  only  I  am 
sure  there  is  wrong  somewhere." 

"  And  it  must  be  right  for  each  of  us  to  do 
all  he  can  to  help,"  said  Matilda. 

David  shook  his  head.  "  One  goes  very 
little  way." 

"  But  that  is  all  we  can  do.  And  if  every 
one  would  —  " 


TRADING.  169 

"  Every  one  will  not,  Tilly  ;  there  it  is." 
"  No.     I  know  it ;  but  still,  David,  people 

have  to  do  so." 
"So  how?" 

"  Why,  each  one  by  himself,  I  mean." 
"Well,"  said  David,  smiling,  "that's  safe 

for  you.     I  mean  to  study  the  subject." 


CHAPTER   VII. 

"JV/TATILDA  was  slow  in  getting  over  her 
sickness.  It  would  not  do  to  think  of 
lessons  or  let  her  do  anything  that  would  weary 
her.  Instead  of  that,  she  was  taken  to  drive, 
and  supplied  with  materials  and  patterns  for 
worsted  work,  and  had  books  at  command. 
Whatever  would  please  her,  in  short ;  at  least 
whatever  Mrs.  Laval  could  think  of;  for  Ma 
tilda  made  no  demands  on  anybody.  She 
was  very  happy ;  feeling  well  but  weak, 
just  so  as  to  draw  out  everybody's  kindness  ; 
and  obliged  to  be  quiet  enough  to  thoroughly 
enjoy  her  happiness.  She  made  great  prog 
ress  in  the  affections  of  the  family  during 
this  rime;  they  found  a  sweetness  and  grace 
and  modesty  in  her  that  presently  seemed 
like  to  make  her  the  house  darling.  "  She 


TRADING.  171 

is  not  selfish,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  She  is 
really  a  very  graceful  little  thing,"  said  Mrs. 
Bartholomew.  "  She  is  honest,"  said  David. 
"  She  is  the  gentlest,  most  dutiful  child  in  the 
world,"  said  Mrs.  Laval ;  but  Mrs.  Laval  did 
not  say  much  about  it.  She  was  growing 
excessively  fond  of  Matilda.  Norton  declared 
she  was  a  brick.  Judy  said  nothing.  Then 
they  would  begin  again.  "  She  is  a  thoroughly 
courteous  child,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  I  do 
think  she  is  a  good  little  thing,"  said  Mrs. 
Bartholomew.  "  She  has  her  own  opinions," 
said  Norton,  who  liked  her  the  better  for  it. 
"  They  are  not  bad  opinions  either,"  remarked 
David. 

"  Aren't  they  !  "  put  in  Judy.  «  Wise  and 
extremely  courteous  she  was  about  the  liqueur 
glasses,  don't  you  think  so  ?  " 

"  What  about  the  liqueur  glasses  ?  "  Mrs. 
Lloyd  demanded ;  and  though  Norton  and 
David  both  tried  to  stop  the  recital,  out  it 
would  come,  for  the  second  time.  Judy 
would  not  be  stopped.  Mrs.  Lloyd  seemed 


172  TRADING. 

rather  serious  but  by  no  means  as  much  dis 
gusted  as  Judy  would  have  liked. 

"  She  had  her  own  opinions,  as  Norton 
says,"  David  remarked ;  "  but  she  behaved 
perfectly  well  about  the  whole  affair ;  perfectly 
courteous,  Judy." 

"  Very  ridiculous,  though,  for  such  a  child," 
his  mother  added. 

"  How  should  she  be  courteotfs  ? "  said 
Judy,  scornfully.  "  She  has  had  no  sort  of 
bringing  up." 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  see  you  as  courteous, 
and  as  graceful  about  it,"  said  Mrs.  Bartholo 
mew.  Whereat  Judy  tossed  her  head  spite 
fully  and  meditated  mischief. 

They  did  not  know  how  it  was.  All  was 
true  they  had  said  respecting  Matilda's  man 
ners  ;  and  this  was  the  secret  of  them ;  she 
was  most  simply  trying  to  live  up  to  her 
motto.  For  this  Matilda  studied  her  Bible, 
watched,  and  prayed.  It  was  not  herself  she 
was  thinking  of,  or  trying  to  please;  her 
obedience  and  her  pleasantness  and  her 


TRADING.  173 

smallest  actions  were  full  of  the  very  spirit 
of  reverence  and  good-will ;  no  wonder  it 
was  all  done  gracefully.  The  days  and  weeks 
of  sickness  and  feebleness  had  been  a  good 
time  for  the  little  girl,  and  the  kindness  she 
received  made  her  heart  very  tender.  She 
sought  ways  to  please ;  above  all,  ways  to 
please  God.  It  was  in  doing  "  all  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus"  that  her  manners 
became  so  lovely  and  her  presence  so  wel 
come  to  almost  all  the  family ;  and  her 
happy  little  face  was  an  attraction  for  even 
old  Mrs.  Lloyd,  who  did  not  confess  to  find 
ing  many  things  in  the  whole  world  attrac 
tive  now.  But  Judy  vowed  in  secret  she 
would  disturb  this  opinion  of  Matilda,  if 
she  could  manage  it. 

So  she  chose  her  time.  Mrs.  Lloyd,  and 
indeed  all  the  elders  of  the  family,  were  ex 
tremely  particular  and  punctilious  about  table 
manners ;  exacting  the  utmost  care  and  ele 
gance  in  everything  that  was  done.  One 
Sunday  there  was  company  at  dinner;  only 


174  TRADING. 

one  or  two  gentlemen  who  were  familiar 
friends,  however,  so  that  the  young  people 
were  not  debarred  their  weekly  pleasure  and 
privilege  of  dining  with  their  grandmother. 
Judy  managed  to  place  herself  next  to  Ma 
tilda,  and  held  her  position,  though  Norton  as 
openly  as  he  dared  reminded  her  she  had  no 
right  to  be  there.  It  was  impossible  to  make 
a  disturbance  and  he  was  obliged  to  give  up 
the  point.  Matilda  wondered  at  what  she 
supposed  an  uncommon  mark  of  favour  in 
Judy ;  and  resolved  to  be  as  nice  a  neighbour 
as  she  could.  There  was  not  much  chance, 
for  of  course  talking,  except  a  low  word  now 
and  then,  was  out  of  the  question.  It  hap 
pened  that  one  of  the  servants  was  for  some 
reason  out  of  the  way,  and  there  was  not  the 
usual  abundant  service  of  the  table.  Just 
when  everybody  was  helped,  Judy  somewhat 
officiously  handed  somebody's  plate  to  Ma 
tilda  to  be  passed  for  some  oysters.  The 
plate  came  back  to  her  full ;  it  had  meat  and 
gravy  and  oysters  and  maccaroni  on  it,  and 


TRADING.  175 

was  heavy  as  well  as  full.  Carefully  giving 
it,  as  she  thought,  into  Judy's  hand,  Matilda 
was  dismayed  to  find  it  seemingly  slip  from 
her  own  ;  and  down  it  went,  taking  impartially 
Judy's  dress  and  her  own  in  its  way.  Turkey 
gravy  and  oysters  lodged  on  Judy's  blue  silk ; 
while  the  maccaroni,  rich  with  butter  and 
cheese,  made  an  impression  never  to  be 
effaced  on  Matilda's  crimson.  The  little  girl 
absolutely  grew  pale  as  she  looked  down  at 
the  disastrous  state  of  things,  and  then  up  at 
Judy.  Judy's  eyes  were  snapping. 

«  Did  I  do  that  ?  "  said  Matilda,  in  a  bewil 
dered  consciousness  that  she  had  not  done  it. 

"  O,  I  guess  not,"  replied  Judy ;  in  a  tone 
which  civilly  said,  "  Of  course  you  did !  "  Ma 
tilda  dared  not  look  at  anybody  else. 

"  You  had  better  go  up  and  change  your 
dress,  Matilda,"  said  Mrs.  Laval  gravely. 
And  Matilda  went,  greatly  disconcerted.  She 
was  a  very  dainty  child  herself;  rudeness  and 
awkwardness  were  almost  as  abhorrent  to  her 
as  they  were  even  to  Mrs.  Lloyd ;  and  now 


176  TRADING. 

she  felt  that  she  had  disgraced  herself,  morti 
fied  Mrs.  Laval,  and  displeased  the  old  lady; 
besides  drawing  down  the  censure  and  slight 
ing  remark  of  Mrs.  Bartholomew.  But  had 
she  done  the  thing  ?  She  was  supposed  to  have 
done  it,  that  was  clear,  from  the  tone  of  Mrs. 
Lloyd's  voice  and  from  Mrs.  Laval's  com 
mand,  as  well  as  from  Judy's  words;  that 
young  lady  herself  had  kept  her  place  in  the 
dining  room,  for  all  that  appeared.  And  Ma 
tilda's  beautiful  crimson  dress  was  spoiled. 
No  doubt  about  it ;  when  she  had  got  it 
off  and  looked  at  it  she  saw  that  the  butter 
and  cheese  had  done  their  work  too  thoroughly 
to  leave  any  hope  that  it  might  be  undone. 
No  acid  or  French  chalk  would  be  of  any 
avail  there.  Poor  Matilda!  she  was  very 
much  dismayed.  She  had  a  particular  fancy 
for  the  colour  of  that  dress  ;  it  was  a  beautiful 
shade;  and  Mrs.  Laval  liked  it;  and  Matilda 
wondered  if  she  was  displeased  ;  and  won 
dered  with  still  increasing  persuasion  that  the 
fault  had  not  lain  with  her.  But  who  could 


TRADING.  177 

prove  that?  And  as  it  was,  the  charge  of 
gross  carelessness  and  inelegance  lay  at  her 
door;  a  charge  above  others  that  she  was 
unwilling  to  bear. 

She  would  not  venture  down  to  the  din 
ing-room  again,  not  knowing  whether  she 
would  be  welcome ;  she  sat  in  the  dark  think 
ing,  and  crying  a  little.  But  when  there 
came  a  knock  at  her  door,  she  got  rid  of  all 
traces  of  tears.  There  was  Norton,  who  had 
brought  her  some  Chantilly  cake  which  she 
was  very  fond  of;  and  close  behind  him 
stood  David,  smiling,  and  bearing  on  a  plate 
a  great  slice  of  ice  cream.  Matilda's  hands 
were  both  filled. 

"  Oh  thank  you !  "  she  said  from  the  bot 
tom  of  her  heart ;  "  O  how  kind  you  are !  " 
Then  as  she  glanced  again  at  David's  benign 
face,  she  half  exclaimed,  «  Did  I  do  that  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  David,  the  smile  vanishing. 

«  She  didn't  ?  "  cried  Norton.  «  Who 
did  ?  " 

"Judy." 

12 


178  TRADING. 

"  Judy !  "  echoed  Norton. 

"  I  thought  I  didn't  do  it,"  said  Matilda, 
forgetting  her  ice  cream ;  "  but  I  was  so 
bewildered,  and  Judy  seemed  to  think  it 
was  I  —  " 

"  I  saw  the  whole  thing,"  said  David.  "  It 
was  not  you.  You  were  not  to  blame  at  all. 
Your  fingers  had  unclosed  from  the  plate 
before  hers  did." 

"  Did  she  do  it  on  purpose  ?  "  said  Norton 
wrathfully,  "  and  let  Pink  bear  the  blame  ? 
She  shan't  bear  it  two  minutes  longer!  " 

He  was  rushing  away,  but  Matilda  made 
one  spring  and  planted  herself  right  in  his 
way. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  Set  this  thing  to  rights." 

«  How  ?  " 

«  How  ?     Why  by  telling  the  truth." 

"  Stop,  Norton  ;  there  is  company." 

u  All  the  more  reason.  Should  you  be  dis 
graced  before  company  ?  " 

"  Hush,  Norton,  stop,"  said  Matilda  eagerly, 


TRADING.  179 

and  getting  both  her  plates  in  one  hand  that 
she  might  lay  hold  of  him  with  the  other. 
u  You  mustn't,  Norton.  Don't  stir,  or  you'll 
make  me  throw  down  my  ice  cream,  and  then 
I  shall  be  disgraced." 

To  prevent  the  possibility  of  such  a  catas 
trophe,  David  took  the  plates  from  her,  and 
Matilda  grasped  Norton  with  both  her  little 
hands. 

"  I'm  going  !  "  he  said. 

"  No,  you  aren't." 

"  I  am,  I  tell  you,  Pink.  I'll  not  stand  by 
and  allow  it.  I'll  expose  Judy  and  clear  you, 
before  everybody,  this  minute." 

"  Stop,  Norton.  You  can't  do  it.  Listen 
to  me.  You  mustn't." 

"  Now  is  the  very  time." 

"You  mustn't  do  it  at  all.  I'll  tell 
mamma.  I  may  do  that ;  but  you  must 
not  say  one  word  about  Judy  to  anybody. 
I  shall  get  mamma  to  keep  quiet  too.  You 
must,  Norton." 

"  She's  right,  old  fellow,  that  this- isn't  the 


l8o  TRADING. 

time,"  said    David.     "  Grandmamma   would 
stop  your  argument  very  short." 

"  And  you  must  not  say  a  word,  Norton. 
For  my  sake!  You  couldn't  prove  anything, 
Norton,  and  it  would  only  make  mischief 
and  do  harm.  Let  it  alone,  and  then  it  is 
nothing." 

"  Nothing !  "  cried  Norton  in  great  dud 
geon. 

"  Nothing  but  a  little  inconvenience  to  me, 
and  that  will  be  all  over  by  to-morrow. 
Promise  me,  Norton ;  and  then  I  can  eat  my 
ice  cream  in  peace." 

"  You  must  promise  quickly  then,"  said 
David,  "  for  it  is  beginning  to  melt." 

Norton  scolded  and  grumbled  yet,  however 
Matilda  saw  that  she  might  take  her  cake 
and  cream  ;  and  she  eat  it  looking  at  him, 
and  enjoying  it  very  much. 

"  What's  the  use  of  being  right  then,"  said 
Norton,  "if  nobody  is  to  know  it?  And 
you  are  provoking,  Pink  !  you  look  just  as  if 
nothing  was  the  matter." 


TRADING.  l8l 

"  Nothing  is  the  matter,  thank  you,"  said 
the  little  girl. 

"  You  don't  look  angry." 

"  I  don't  think  I  am  angry." 

"  You  ought  to  be." 

"  I  think  I'm  too  happy  to  be  angry,"  said 
Matilda,  finishing  her  ice.  And  she  looked 
so  cool  that  Norton  could  not  keep  hot.  He 
and  David  took  her  empty  plates  away  for 
her ;  and  so  ended  that  day's  trouble.  Never 
theless,  fruits  of  it  appeared  afterwards. 

A  little  while  after  this  Sunday,  Norton 
sickened  with  the  same  fever  Matilda  had 
had.  There  followed  a  long,  very  quiet  time, 
during  which  she  was  much  left  to  herself. 
Mrs.  Laval  was  in  the  sick  room ;  for  if  she 
was  not  a  skilled  nurse,  she  was  a  most  affec 
tionate  mother;  and  in  the  cases  of  both  her 
children,  she  either  did  herself  or  watched 
over  everything  that  was  done.  Matilda  was 
not  allowed  to  be  with  Norton  and  help, 
which  she  would  have  liked  ;  it  was  thought 
that  her  strength  was  not  sufficiently  recovered. 


182  TRADING. 

So  the  little  girl  lived  in  her  room ;  crept 
down  and  up  for  her  meals ;  was  as  quiet  as 
a  mouse ;  and  endured  not  a  little  mischief 
from  Judy's  hands.  Judy  revelled.  She  was 
as  full  of  life  as  of  mischief,  and  she  made 
Matilda  her  butt.  The  children  generally 
dining  together  alone,  she  had  a  fair  field ; 
for  David  could  not  interpose  to  prevent 
Judy's  sly  provocations.  They  were  too  sly, 
and  too  quick  and  shifting,  and  too  various 
and  unlocked  for.  Sometimes  she  ^patronized 
Matilda,  as  a  little  country  girl ;  sometimes 
she  admonished  her,  very  unnecessarily,  in 
the  same  character;  sometimes  Judy  took 
a  tone  more  offensive  still  and  accused  her 
of  artful  practices  to  gain  Mrs.  Laval's  favour. 
David  and  others  were  present ;  but  they  did 
not  always  see  what  was  going  on  ;  or  if 
they  attempted  to  put  Judy  in  order,  the 
attempt  was  too  apt  to  provoke  more  trouble 
than  it  stopped.  Matilda  bore  a  good  deal 
of  trial,  those  weeks  ;  for  she  was  naturally 
a  spirited  child,  ready  to  resent  injuries;  and 


TRADING.  183 

besides  that,  she  was  a  clever  child,  quite 
able  to  return  Judy's  sharp  speeches.  She 
said  very  little  to  them,  however,  except  what 
was  good-humoured.  Her  cheek  flushed 
now  and  then ;  sometimes  her  little  head 
took  its  old  set  on  her  shoulders,  extremely 
expressive,  and  equally  graceful  and  uncon 
scious  ;  the  boys  would  laugh,  and  Judy  toss 
her  own  head  in  a  different  fashion.  These 
things  gave  Matilda  a  good  deal  of  work  in 
her  own  room.  She  used  to  hunt  out  pas 
sages  that  spoke  of  forgiveness  and  kindness 
and  the  management  of  the  tongue  and  the 
bridling  of  anger;  and  then  she  used  to  pray 
over  them,  and  not  .once  or  twice.  So  Judy 
never  could  prevail  much  with  her.  How 
ever,  Matilda  wished  for  many  reasons  that 
Norton  would  get  strong  and  well  again  and 
Mrs.  Laval  be  in  her  old  place.  As  he  grew 
better,  she  began  to  be  very  much  in  his 
room  ;  taking  care  of  him,  reading  or  talking 
to  him,  and  having  very  nice  times  planning 
garden  for  Briery  Bank  when  they  should  go 


184  TRADING. 

home.  That  would  not  be  early  this  year, 
Norton  said  he  was  afraid,  because  of  his 
school ;  but  at  any  rate  they  would  run  up  at 
the  Easter  holidays  and  set  things  in  train. 

One  day  Matilda  was  coming  upstairs, 
after  an  uncomfortable  lunch  with  Judy 
alone.  She  came  slowly,  for  she  was  weak 
yet,  thinking  that  Judy  was  a  very  difficult 
person  to  get  along  with.  David  had  not 
appeared  at  the  meal.  Just  as  Matilda 
reached  the  head  of  the  stairs  at  her  own 
door,  he  came  out  of  his  room. 

"  Tilly,"  said  he  in  a  choked  kind  of  voice, 
"  come  here !  I  want  you." 

A  very  odd  way  for  David  to  speak,  she 
thought ;  and  looking  at  him  she  perceived 
that  he  had  not  his  usual  calmness  and 
gravity,  in  face  any  more  than  in  voice.  He 
was  flushed  and  agitated,  and  troubled,  it 
seemed  to  her.  Matilda  obeyed  his  call 
instantly  and  he  led  the  way  into  his  room 
and  shut  the  door.  Then  she  waited  for  him 
to  speak  and  tell  what  he  wanted  of  her ;  but 


TRADING.  185 

that  seemed  to  be  somehow  difficult.  David 
hesitated,  struggling  with  himself,  she  could 
see ;  yet  no  words  came.  Matilda  was  too 
much  in  awe  of  him  to  speak  first.  David 
had  been  very  kind  to  her  lately ;  but  he  was 
older,  older  even  than  Norton,  and  much 
graver ;  and  she  did  not  know  him  so  well. 
She  waited. 

As  for  David,  he  could  hardly  speak,  or  he 
had  great  difficulty  in  the  choice  of  words. 
He  fidgeted  a  little,  taking  one  or  two  turns 
across  the  room,  flushed  and  paled  again, 
then  faced  Matilda  and  spoke  with  desperate 
resolution. 

"  Tilly,  what  do  you  know  about  —  that 
person  —  I  mean  the  One  you  think  so  much 
of,  and  call  your  Messiah  ?  " 

Matilda  was  extremely  astonished.  "  Do 
you  mean  —  Jesus  ?  "  she  asked  doubtfully 
and  not  a  little  afraid. 

"  Yes  —  yes.  What  do  you  know  about 
him  ?  " 

Matilda  hesitated. 


186  TRADING. 

"  I  know  he  loves  me,"  she  said  softly. 

"  Loves  you  !  How  do  you  know  that  ? 
how  can  you  know  that?" 

"  Because  I  love  him,  David  ;  and  I  know 
he  loves  me.  He  has  said  so." 

"  Said  so  !  I  beg  your  pardon.  How  has 
be  said  so  ?  " 

"  In  a  great  many  places.  And  in  a  great 
many  ways,  David.  He  died  for  me." 

"  Died  !  "  repeated  David  again  ;  then  con 
trolling  his  excitement,  which  was  very  great, 
he  again  asked  Matilda's  pardon.  "What 
do  you  mean  by  saying  he  died  for  you  ?  for 
you,  or  anybody  ?  He  was  put  to  death  by 
the  Romans,  because  he  set  himself  up  for  a 
king." 

"  He  didn't,"  said  Matilda  eagerly ;  « not 
in  the  way  the  people  said.  He  told  Pilate 
himself  that  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this 
world ;  and  he  told  the  Jews  to  pay  tribute 
to  Cajsar.  They  accused  him  for  envy." 

"  Anyhow,  he  was  put  to  death  like  any 
other  criminal.  Why  should  you  say  he 
died  for  you?  Have  you  any  reason?" 


TRADING.  187 

"  Have  you  got  a  Bible  here,  David  ?  " 

"  Not  your  Bible.  I  have  the  Scriptures 
of  Moses  and  the  prophets." 

"  Those  are  what  Jesus  said  told  about 
him.  But  just  let  me  run  and  get  my  Bible, 
David ;  I  want  to  shew  you  something.  I'll 
be  back  in  one  minute." 

He  made  no  objection  ;  and  Matilda  rushed 
out  to  her  own  room,  threw  off  her  cloak 
and  hat,  dropped  down  on  her  knees  for  one 
instant  to  pray  that  the  Lord  would  teach 
her  wliat  to  say  to  David;  then  seized  her 
Bible  and  ran  back  to  him.  She  was  almost 
as  excited  now,  outwardly,  as  he  seemed ; 
her  little  fingers  trembled  as  she  turned  the 
leaves  over. 

"  See  here,  David,"  she  said.  "  That 
night,  the  night  of  the  passover,  you  know; 
the  night  before  he  died ;  he  was  at  supper 
toith  the  twelve  disciples  —  " 

"  What  twelve  disciples  ?  " 

"  Those  who  were  always  with  him ;  they 
were  the  apostles  afterwards.  Look  here. 


1 88  TRADING. 

He  broke  bread  and  told  them  to  eat  it,  and 
said  it  was  his  body  broken  for  them  ;  and 
then  a  cup  of  wine ;  and  this  is  what  he  said 
about  that.  See." 

"  Read  it,"  said  David. 

" '  This  is  my  blood  of  the  new  testament, 
which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of 
sins.'  Testament  is  the  same  word  as  cove 
nant,  Mr.  Wharncliffe  says." 

u  Covenant !  "  cried  David. 

"  Yes.  In  this  other  place  he  says,  '  This 
cup  is  the  new  testament/  or  covenant,  *  in 
my  blood,  which  is  shed  for  you.'  That  is 
the  new  covenant  that  Jeremiah  promised." 

"  Jeremiah  !  "  cried  David  again  ;  "  what 
do  you  know  of  Jeremiah  ?  Is  that  in  your 
Bible  ?  " 

"  Certainly  it  is.  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  and 
all  of  them." 

"  But  what  do  you  mean  about  that  new 
covenant?  you  don't  know  what  you  are 
talking  of,  Tilly." 

"  O  yes,  I  do,  David.     Look  here ;  here  is 


TRADING.  189 

the  place  in  Jeremiah;  we  had  all  about  this 
in  our  lesson  last  Sunday.  Look  here,  David. 
*  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that 
I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house 
of  Israel  and  with  the  house  of  Judah ;  not 
according  to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with 
their  fathers,  in  the  day  that  I  took  them  by 
the  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt;  which  my  covenant  they  brake, 
although  I  was  a  husband  unto  them,  saith 
the  Lord. 

"  *  But  this  shall  be  the  covenant  that  I 
will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel;  After 
those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law 
in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their 
hearts ;  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall 
be  my  people.  And  they  shall  teach  no  more 
every  man  his  neighbour,  and  every  man  his 
brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord :  for  they 
shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto 
the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord :  for  I 
will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remem 
ber  their  sin  no  more.'  " 


1 90  TRADING. 

Matilda  stopped  and  looked  up  at  David. 

"I  know  all  that  very  well,"  he  replied; 
"that  will  be  in  the  days  of  Messiah." 

"Jesus  said  it  was  then.  He  said,  *  This 
cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  my  blood.' ': 

"  How  could  that  be  ?  what  meaning  is 
there  in  that  ?  " 

"Why,  David,  —  don't  you  see?  His 
blood  did  it." 

"Did  what?" 

"  Why !  bought  forgiveness  for  us,  so  that 
God  could  give  us  the  new  covenant.  It  is 
a  covenant  to  forgive  us  and  make  us  holy 
for  Jesus'  sake.  Mr.  Wharncliffe  was  ex 
plaining  it  only  last  Sunday." 

"  I  don't  want  to  hear  what  Mr.  Wharn 
cliffe  said.  Tell  me  only  what  you  know." 

"•  Well,  David,  I  know  it's  all  true." 

"Tilly,  how  can  you?" 

"  Why,  David,  —  I  know  Jesus  has  taken 
away  my  sins ;  and  I  think  he  is  writing  his 
laws  on  my  heart." 

"  But  Tilly  !  "    David  exclaimed  with  a  sort 


TRADING.  191 

of  anxious  impatience,  "  you  don't  know  what 
you  are  talking  about.  You  mean  that  this 
—  Jesus  —  was  our  Messiah." 

"  Yes,"  said  Matilda.     "  He  said  he  was." 

"  He  said  he  was  ?  "  exclaimed  David. 

«  Yes,  to  be  sure  he  did." 

"  But  you  don't  know.  The  Scriptures  of 
the  prophets  declare  that  Messiah  will  be  a 
great  king." 

"  Yes,"  Matilda  answered  slowly,  looking 
at  him.  "Jesus  is  a  great  King." 

"  No !  "  said  David  quickly.  "  He  was  cru 
cified." 

"  But  he  rose  again,  and  went  back  to 
heaven." 

"  They  stole  his  body  away,"  said  David, 
"  and  made  believe  he  was  risen." 

"  O  no,  that  was  what  the  priests  told  the 
soldiers  to  say ;  but  we  know  he  rose  again, 
David,  for  they  saw  him  —  the  apostles  and 
Mary  Magdalene,  and  all  of  them ;  over  and 
over  again." 

"  But  the   Scriptures  say  he  shall,  I  mean 


I92  TRADING. 

Messiah,  he  shall  conquer  the  enemies  of 
Israel  and  deliver  us." 

"  I  think  that  means  the  true  Israel,"  said 
Matilda. 

"  The  true  Israel ! "  said  David.  "  Who 
are  the  true  Israel?  I  am  one  of  them. 
Abraham's  children." 

The  boy  spoke  proudly,  defiantly,  as  if  he 
felt  the  noble  blood  of  kings  and  prophets  in 
his  veins,  and  the  inheritance  his  own.  Ma 
tilda  found  it  very  difficult  to  go  on.  So  far 
she  had  been  able  to  answer  him,  having 
given  attention  to  her  Sunday  school  teach 
ing  and  that  teaching  having  lately  run  in  a 
course  fitted  to  instruct  her  on  some  of  the 
points  that  David  started.  But  she  did  not 
know  what  to  say  now.  She  was  silent. 

"  Look  here,"  said  David  in  the  same  tone. 
He  seized  his  Bible  which  lay  at  hand,  and 
turning  over  the  leaves  stopped  at  the  proph 
ecy  of  Daniel,  and  read,  not  after  the  common 
English  version  — 

" '  I  was  seeing  in  the  visions  of  the  night, 


TEADING.  193 

and  lo,  with  the  clouds  of  the  heavens  as  a 
son  of  man  was  one  coming,  and  unto  the 
Ancient  of  Days  he  hath  come,  and  before 
him  they  have  brought  him  near.  And  to 
him  is  given  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  king 
dom,  and  all  peoples,  nations  and  languages 
do  serve  him ;  his  dominion  is  a  dominion 
age-during,  that  passeth  not  away,  and  his 
kingdom  that  which  is  not  destroyed.'  "  Da 
vid  read,  and  paused,  and  looked  up  at  Ma 
tilda. 

"Yes,"    said    Matilda    nodding;    "that   is 
just  what  the  angel  said  about  Jesus." 
"What  angel?" 

"  The  angel  that  came  to  tell  that  he  was 
coming.  See,  David,  wait,  —  I'll  find  it; 
here  it  is !  <  He  shall  be  great ;  and  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  the  Highest ;  and  the  Lord 
God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his 
father  David  ;  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house 
of  Jacob  for  ever ;  and  of  his  kingdom  there 
shall  be  no  end.1 ';  And  in  her  turn  Matilda 
looked  up  at  David. 

13 


194  TRADING. 

"  But  what  kingdom  has  he  ? "  David  asked, 
between  anxiously  and  scornfully. 

"  Why,  I  remember  he  said,  '  All  power  is 
given  unto  me,  in  heaven  and  in  earth.' " 

"  It  don't  shew,"  said  David.  "  Christians 
are  a  small  part  of  the  world,  and  not  the 
strongest  part  by  any  means." 

"  No,  I  didn't  say  they  were.  I  only  said 
Jesus  is  the  King." 

"  And  I  say  again,  Tilly;  you  have  nothing 
but  words  to  shew  for  it.  How  is  he  king  ?  " 

u  O  but,  David,  wait;  look  here,  —  I'll  find 
the  place  in  a  minute  or  two  —  " 

She  sought  it  eagerly,  but  it  took  a  little 
while  to  find  any  of  the  words  she  wanted. 
David  waited  patiently,  having  evidently 
much  on  his  mind.  At  last  Matilda's  face 
lighted  up. 

"  Here,  David  ;  this  is  what  I  mean ;  I  was 
afraid  to  put  it  in  my  own  words.  *  And 
when  he  was  demanded  of  the  Pharisees, 
when  the  kingdom  of  God  should  come,'  — 
you  see  they  thought  as  you  do ;  — '  he  an- 


TRADING.  195 

swered  them  and  said,  The  kingdom  of  God 
cometh  not  with  observation ;  neither  shall 
they  say,  Lo,  here !  or  Lo,  there !  for,  behold, 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you.'  That's 
it,  David,  don't  you  see  ?  He  is  king  in  peo 
ple's  hearts." 

"  The  Messiah  is  to  reign  in  another  fash 
ion  than  that,"  David  returned.  "  The  Tar- 
gum  says,  ca  King  shall  arise  from  Jacob,  and 
Messiah  be  exalted  from  Israel ;  then  he  shall 
kill  the  great  ones  of  Moab,  and  he  shall 
rule  over  all  the  children  of  men ; '  and  *  to 
him  are  all  the  kingdoms  of  earth  to  be  sub 
jected.'  l  The  Lord  will  destroy  his  enemies 
who  rise  to  put  his  people  to  shame ;  he 
will  thunder  upon  them  with  a  loud  voice 
from  the  heavens ;  the  Lord  shall  exact  ven 
geance  from  Magog,  and  from  the  army  of  the 
thundering  nations  who  come  with  him  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  he  will  give  strength 
to  his  King,  and  magnify  the  kingdom  of  his 
Messiah.'  " 

"  That  isn't  out  of  the  Bible,  is  it  ?  "  said 
Matilda,  bewildered. 


196  TRADING. 

"  No  ;  it's  the  Targums." 

"  I  don't  know  what  the  Targum  is." 

"  It  is  a  book,  or  books  rather,  of  the  words 
of  our  wise  Rabbis;  explaining  the  Scrip 
ture." 

"  I  don't  know  anything  but  the  Bible," 
said  Matilda  meekly ;  "  and  I  don't  know  but 
a  little  of  that." 

"  Well,  you  see,  Tilly,  that  our  Messiah  is 
to  be  King  in  a  grand  fashion,  and  rule  over 
all  kingdoms;  and  make  his  people  rule  with 
him." 

"  O  tliaCs  like  the  New  Testament!"  Ma 
tilda  cried. 

"What  part  of  it?" 

"  I  don't  know  exactly  where  it  is ;  I'll 
look  ;  but  David,  Jesus  is  going  to  reign  so 
by  and  by,  I  know." 

"  You  know  ! "  said  David. 

"  Yes  ;  for  he  said  so." 

"Who  said  so?" 

"  Why,  Jesus.  Here  —  stop  !  —  no,  here 
it  is,  one  place.  Listen,  David,  just  to  this. 


TRADING.  197 

*  And  as  they  heard  these  things,  he  added 
and  spake  a  parable,  because  he  was  nigh  to 
Jerusalem,  and  because  they  thought  that  the 
kingdom  of  God  should  immediately  appear/ 
—  That's  what  you  thought,  David." 

«  Well,  but,  —  "  David  began. 

"  Just  listen.  *  He  said  therefore,  A  cer 
tain  nobleman  went  into  a  far  country  to 
receive  for  himself  a  kingdom  and  to  return.'  " 

"  What's  that  ?  "  said  David. 

"  Why,  don't  you  understand  ?  " 

"  No.  Not  what  it  has  to  do  with  what 
I  was  talking  about." 

"  Why,  David,  the  far  country  is  heaven ; 
and  Jesus  is  gone  there  until  the  kingdom  is 
ready,  or  till  he  is  ready  to  take  it." 

"  You  have  nothing  but  words  to  shew  for 
it." 

"  No,  of  course  ;  but  they  are  God's  words, 
David;  so  they  are  true." 

<;  Take  care !  "  said  he,  and  his  dark  eye 
fired  and  glowed ;  "  you  mustn't  talk  so. 
You  know  I  don't  believe  that." 


198  TRADING. 

"  Believe  what?'' 

"  That  his  words  are  God's  words." 

u  But  don't  you  remember,"  said  Matilda, 
to  whom  the  words  seemed  to  come  in  her 
puzzle,  to  help  her  out,  —  "  don't  you  remem 
ber  in  the  Psalms  —  " 

«  The  Psalms  of  David  ?  " 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure,  the  Psalms  of  David ; 
don't  you  remember  how  it  says — Oh,  I 
wish  I  could  find  it!  —  something  about  'sit 
ting  at  my  right  hand  '  till  his  enemies  shall 
be,  —  I  forget  what." 

"  I  know !  "  said  David  with  a  curious 
change  of  countenance  ;  and  in  his  own  book 
he  immediately  turned  to  the  place. 

"  '  The  af  Urination  of  Jehovah  to  my  Lord: 
Sit  at  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  ene 
mies  thy  footstool.'  ' 

"That's  it!"  cried  Matilda.  "Jesus  is 
there  now,  and  by  and  by  he  is  coming  to 
take  the  kingdom." 

It  did  not  seem  as  if  David  heard  her;  so 
deep  was  his  pondering  over  the  passage  he 


TRADING.  199 

had  just  read.  Little  Matilda  watched  him 
curiously  ;  his  brow  was  dark,  with  what  sort 
of  thoughts  she  could  not  guess ;  his  eye 
sometimes  flashed  and  at  other  times  grew 
intense  with  looking  into  what  he  was  study 
ing.  But  what  struck  Matilda  most  was  the 
look  of  trouble ;  the  expression  of  grave  care 
upon  his  lip.  He  lifted  up  his  head  at  last, 
and  his  eye  met  her  eye,  and  he  was  going 
to  speak ;  when  the  clang  of  the  dinner  bell 
pealed  through  the  house.  That  day,  for 
some  reason,  the  children  were  to  dine  with 
their  elders.  Mrs.  Lloyd  was  particular 
about  attendance  at  the  minute  ;  David  and 
Matilda  parted  with  one  consent  and  without 
another  word,  to  make  themselves  ready  to 
go  down. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

TDEFORE  Matilda  had  any  chance  for 
"^  more  talk  in  private  with  David,  the 
week  came  to  an  end ;  and  Sunday  afternoon 
found  her  in  Sunday  school  as  usual.  But 
not  as  usual,  she  had  hardly  a  word  or  a 
minute  to  spare  for  Sarah,  who  was  telling 
of  her  progress  in  learning  to  use  a  sewing 
machine  and  of  her  own  and  her  mother's 
bettered  health.  Delightful  as  it  was,  and  as 
Sarah's  face  was,  all  luminous  with  grateful 
and  glad  feeling,  Matilda  through  the  wrhole 
of  it  was  intent  upon  Mr.  Wharnclitre  and 
his  motions;  and  the  instant  Sarah  had  left 
her  she  sprang  to  his  side. 

"  Are  you  busy,  sir  ?  can  I  talk  to  you  ?  " 
"  Talk  ?  "  said  Mr.  WharnclifTe ;  "  then  we 
want  some  time  for  it,  do  we  ?  " 


TRADING.  201 

"  If  you  please,  sir ;  a  little." 

"  Then  we'll  talk  as  we  walk.  Now,  what 
is  it?" 

But  Matilda  waited,  until  they  were  out 
of  hearing  of  all  that  they  knew ;  then  in  the 
solitude  of  the  wide  avenue  she  began. 

"  Mr.  "Wharncliffe,  I  want  some  advice. 
I  don't  just  know  how  to  manage  some 
thing." 

"  Very  likely.     Let  us  hear." 

u  I  want  to  know  how  to  speak  to  some 
body  who  does  not  know  about  Jesus,  ajid 
who  wants  to  know." 

"  That  often  calls  for  wisdom,"  said  Mr. 
Wharncliffe ;  "  but  I  should  think  it  would 
not  be  difficult  in  your  case.  You  can  tell 
what  you  know ;  what  Jesus  has  done  and  is 
doing  for  you,  and  what  he  has  promised  to 
do  for  everybody." 

"  Yes,  sir,  but  it  is  not  that.  It  is  some 
body  who  wants  to  know  whether  Jesus  is 
the  Messiah?"  And  Matilda  looked  up 
very  eagerly  in  her  teacher's  face. 


202  TRADING. 

"  Well.  When  '  somebody  '  has  found  out 
that  Jesus  is  the  Saviour,  he  will  have  no 
doubt  that  he  is  the  One  l  anointed  to  save.' 
You  know,  Messiah,  and  Christ,  mean  simply 
*  anointed.'  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  know.     But  —  this  person  —  " 

"  What  of  him  ? "  said  Mr.  Wharncliffe 
smiling.  "  Is  he  a  very  difficult  person  ?  " 

"  Rather,"  said  Matilda  slowly ;  "  because 
—  he  has  never  known  that  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah." 

"  My  dear  child,  to  know  that  truly,  in  the 
full  meaning  and  scope  of  the  words,  is  what 
no  one  ever  does  except  by  the  teaching  of 
the  Spirit  of  God." 

«  That  isn't  it,"  said  Matilda.  *«  This 
person  —  does  not  know  whether  to  believe 
the  New  Testament." 

"  I  would  not  advise  you,  Matilda,  to  hold 
arguments  with  an  infidel,  young  or  old." 

';  O  he  is  not  an  infidel,  sir!  He  is  a 
Jew." 

"  A  Jew! "  exclaimed  Mr.  Wharncliffe. 


TRADING.  203 

"  Yes.  And  now,  he  wants  to  know 
whether  Jesus  is  the  Messiah." 

"  Is  he  in  earnest,  or  talking  for  talk's 
sake  ?  " 

"  Oh,  in  earnest,  sir  !  very  much  in  earnest." 

There  came  a  sudden  veil  over  the  clear 
blue  eyes  that  looked  down  at  Matilda;  then 
their  owner  said, 

"  I  must  take  you  home  with  me." 

It  was  not  far,  down  a  cross  street.  Mr. 
Wharncliffe  left  Matilda  in  the  parlour  a  few 
moments,  and  returned  with  a  book  in  his 
hand. 

"  This  is  the  best  I  can  do  for  you,"  he 
said.  "  Unless  you  could  bring  your  friend 
to  see  me  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  sir !  he  would  not.  I  don't  think 
he  has  spoken  to  anybody  but  me." 

"  Nobody  but  you  ?  Has  he  no  one  to 
speak  to?" 

"  No,  sir.     Not  about  this." 

"  Well,  my  child,  as  I  said,  this  is  the  best 
thing  I  can  do  for  you." 


204  TRADING. 

"  What  is  it,  sir  ?  " 

"  A  first-rate  reference  Bible." 

"  I  have  got  a  Bible." 

"  I  know  that.  But  this  has  references, 
which  you  will  find  will  explain  a  vast  many 
things  to  you.  I  advise  you  not  to  talk 
much,  because  you  might  not  always  know 
just  what  to  say.  Do  this.  Let  your  friend 
bring  any  word  or  promise  about  the  Messiah 
that  he  knows  of  in  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures;  you  find  the  place  in  this  little 
Bible,  and  see  what  passages  of  the  New 
Testament  it  refers  to ;  see,  here  are  the 
words  of  the  Bible  on  one  page  and  the 
references  to  each  verse  on  the  page  opposite. 
You  know  what  these  abbreviations  mean?" 

"O  yes,  sir.  O  thank  you,  sir!"  said 
Matilda,  whose  hands  had  now  received  the 
volume  and  whose  eyes  were  eagerly  scan 
ning  it.  "  I  will  take  great  care  of  it, 
sir." 

"  I  hope  you  will ;  but  not  for  my  sake.  I 
wish  you  to  keep  it,  Matilda.  It  will  be 


TRADING.  205 

useful  to  you  very  often.     And  I  shall  want 
to  hear  how  you  get  on." 

He  took  back  the  book  to  put  her  name  in 
it,  while  Matilda  coloured  high,  and  could 
hardly  find  words  to  speak  her  thanks.  Her 
teacher  smiled  at  her,  escorted  her  to  her  own 
door  again,  and  Matilda  went  in  a  happy 
child. 

She  was  eager  now  for  another  chance  to 
talk  with  David,  and  she  fancied  he  wished 
for  it  too ;  but  demands  of  school  on  the  one 
hand,  and  Norton  and  Mrs.  Laval  on  the 
other,  for  days  made  it  impossible.  For 
Matilda  well  understood  that  the  matter  was 
not  to  be  o,penly  spoken  of,  and  the  opportunity 
must  be  private  when  it  came.  She  studied 
her  new  little  Bible  meanwhile  with  great 
assiduity,  hoping  to  prepare  herself  for 
David's  questions  ;  however,  she  soon  found 
she  could  not  do  that.  She  could  only  get 
familiar  with  the  arrangements  of  her  book ; 
what  David  might  ask  or  might  say,  it  was 
impossible  to  guess. 


206  TRADING. 

Meantime  Judy's  disagreeable  attentions 
continued. 

"  Why  do  you  not  eat  your  soup,  Matilda  ?  " 
Mrs.  Lloyd  asked  one  day.  It  was  Sunday 
of  course ;  the  day  when  the  young  folks 
dined  with  the  old  ones. 

"  It  is  very  hot,  grandmamma." 

"Hot?  mine  isn't  hot.  It  is  not  hot  at 
all ;  not  too  hot." 

"  it  is  hot  with  pepper,  I  think." 

"  Pepper  ?  There  is  not  pepper  enough 
in  it." 

Matilda  thought  that  Mrs.  Lloyd's  palate 
and  her  own  perhaps  perceived  pepper  differ 
ently.  But  when  the  first  course  was  served 
and  Matilda  had  taken  curry,  of  which  she 
was  very  fond,  this  was  again  hot;  so  sharp, 
in  fact,  that  she  could  not  eat  it. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Lloyd, — 
"  pepper  there  too  ?  " 

"  It  is  very  hot,  ma'am,"  said  Matilda, 
while  Judy  burst  out  laughing. 

"  Curry  always  is  hot,  child,"  said  the  old 


TRADING.  207 

lady.  "  Why  do  you  take  it,  if  you  do  not 
like  it  ?  " 

"  I  like  it  very  much,  grandmamma  ;  only 
to-day  —  " 

"  It  is  not  any  hotter  than  usual,  to-da^. 
You  should  know  what  you  want  before  you 
take  it.  You  can  make  your  dinner  of  rice, 
then." 

The  rice  was  as  hot  as  the  rest  of  it, 
Matilda  thought.  She  could  not  eat ;  and 
she  was  hungry,  for  she  had  had  a  good  walk 
and  a  brisk  lesson  in  Sunday  school  ;  but 
the  fiery  portion  on  her  plate  quite  baffled 
her  hunger.  She  was  never  helped  to  pud 
ding  or  pie  more  than  once  ;  she  went  hungry 
to  bed. 

That  did  her  no  harm  ;  but  it  happened 
again  and  again  that,  if  not  starved,  she  was 
at  least  disappointed  of  eating  something  she 
liked,  or  had  something  she  did  eat,  spoiled 
by  its  seasoning.  Very  indulgent  as  Mrs. 
Lloyd  was  about  things  in  general,  respecting 
table  manners  and  all  the  etiquette  of  grace- 


208  TRADING. 

ful  behaviour  at  meal  times  she  was  exceed 
ingly  particular.  She  did  not  allow  the 
young  people  to  make  any  ado  about  what 
they  eat.  She  gave  them  liberty  enough  of 
choice,  but  once  the  choice  made,  it  was 
made ;  and  mistakes  were  at  the  person's 
own"  risk.  So  when  Matilda's  salad  was 
very  spicy  with  cinnamon,  or  her  ice  cream 
excessively  and  unaccountably  salt,  or  her 
oysters  seemed  to  have  been  under  a  heavy 
shower  of  red  pepper,  there  was  no  resource 
but  to  be  quiet;  unless  she  would  have  made 
a  scene;  as  it  was,  she  got  credit  for  being 
fanciful  and  very  dainty. 

"Weeks  passed  before  she  and  David  could 
be  alone  together ;  eager  and  curious  and 
sympathetic  as  she  was.  David  did  not 
change :  the  gloom  of  his  troublesome 
thoughts  hung  over  him,  she  could  see,  all 
the  while;  though  nobody  else  seemed  to 
notice  it.  At  last,  one  evening  in  March,  it 
fell  out  that  all  the  family  were  going  to  the 
theatre.  Even  Mrs.  Lloyd  ;  for  some  partic- 


TRADING.  209 

ular  attraction  was  just  then  drawing  crowds 
to  the  nightly  spectacle ;  and  Norton  and 
Judy  had  put  in  their  claim  to  be  allowed  to 
go,  and  it  had  been  granted.  David  was  in 
vited,  but  he  refused  without  ceremony.  Mrs. 
Laval  turned  to  Matilda ;  and  Mrs.  Lloyd 
asked  graciously  if  she  would  like  to  go? 
Now  Matilda  would  have  liked  very  much  to 
go,  on  one  side  of  the  question ;  yet  her  an 
swer  was  a  grateful  negative. 

"  What's  the  reason  ? "  said  the  old  lady. 
"  It  is  no  use  asking  for  Davy's  reasons,  for 
they  are  sure  to  be  immovable;  but  you, 
Tilly,  what's  the  matter  with  you?  Were 
you  ever  there  ?  " 

"  No,  ma'am,  never." 

"  It'll  amuse  you,  child ;  come !  Judy's 
going." 

It  was  difficult  to  answer ;  but  Matilda 
remembered  words  she  had  heard  from  Mr. 
Richmond,  which  shewed  that  he  did  not 
think  the  theatre  a  place  for  a  Christian  to  be 
amused  in ;  and  without  in  the  least  under- 
14 


210  TRADING. 

standing  his  reasons,  Matilda  did  not  dare  go. 
She  said,  and  truly,  that  she  would  rather 
stay  at  home ;  and  so  it  fell  out  that  she  and 
David  were  left  for  a  whole  evening  alone. 

The^earriage  had  driven  off;  the  two  came 
back  into  the  little  reception  room  where  the 
family  usually  had  tea  and  spent  the  evening; 
Matilda  having  slipped  upstairs  and  brought 
down  her  two  Bibles.  David  turned  up  the 
gas  and  looked  at  her. 

"  What  have  you  got  there,  Tilly  ?  " 

"  A  book  that  will  help  us,  I  hope." 

"  I  wish  it  would  help  me !  "  said  David, 
as  he  sat  down  and  buried  his  face  in  his 
hands. 

"  We've  got  all  the  evening  to  ourselves, 
if  we  want  it,"  said  Matilda  a  little  timidly. 

"  Yes.  They  will  not  be  home  before 
twelve  o'clock." 

But  David  did  not  seem  in  a  hurry  to 
avail  himself  of  his  opportunity.  He  sat 
with  his  head  in  his  hands,  and  then  got  up 
and  walked  about,  looking  dark  enough.  Ma- 


TRADING.  21 1 

tilda  waited  and  watched  him,  wondering  and 
anxious. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Judy  ?  "  he  said 
suddenly,  coming  to  a  stand  opposite  Matilda. 

"  I  think  she  likes  to  amuse  herself,"  Ma 
tilda  answered,  very  much  surprised. 

"  How  do  you  like  her  amusing  herself  at 
your  expense  ?  " 

«  I  don't  like  it,  David." 

"  Why  don't  you  get  angry  ?  " 

«  I  do." 

"  So  do  I,  sometimes ;  but  it  is  your  affair. 
Why  don't  you  speak  out  ?  " 

"  She  wouldn't  care,  David ;  it  wouldn't 
make  any  difference." 

"Judy  ?  No,  not  with  her;  but  why  don't 
you  speak  out  to  grandmamma,  or  aunt 
Zara  ?  They  would  care." 

Matilda's  cheeks  flushed,  and  her  eyes  even 
looked  a  little  watery ;  she  did  not  answer  at 
once. 

"  I  don't  want  to  do  that,  David." 

"Why  not?" 


212  TRADING. 

"  It  wouldn't  be  returning  good  for  evil, 
you  know." 

"  Good  for  evil!  no,"  said  David;  "  but  it 
would  be  right." 

"  I  don't  think  it  would  be  right,"  Matilda 
said  gently. 

«  Why  wouldn't  it  ?  Good  for  evil  ?  that 
is  not  the  law ;  and  it  is  not  justice.  The 
law  is,  '  Life  shall  go  for  life,  eye  for  eye, 
tooth  for  tooth,  hand  for  hand,  foot  for  foot.' ' 

"  I  don't  want  to  do  justice,"  said  Matilda 
smiling. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  He  was  observing  the  little 
girl  closely. 

"I  "don't  know,  David;  it  would  be  no 
pleasure.  Besides  —  " 

"  Besides  what  ?  " 

"  Jesus  says  we  mustn't." 

"  Mustn't  what  ?     Do  justice  ?  " 

u  Yes.  No  —  not  to  ourselves  sometimes. 
You  asked  me  what  I  knew  about  him ;  this 
is  one  thing.  He  says  we  must  not  return 
evil  for  evil ;  nor  be  angry." 


TRADING.  213 

"  You  were  angry  at  Judy,  though  ?  " 

"  Well,  for  a  little  while,  sometimes.  I 
couldn't  always  help  it ;  or  I  could,  I  sup 
pose,  but  I  didn't." 

"  How  could  you  ?  "  said  David.  "  I  can 
not.  When  I  am  angry,  I  am  angry;  and 
there  is  nothing  to  do  but  wait  till  I  get  over 
it." 

"  That's  another  thing  I  know  about  Jesus," 
said  Matilda  gravely.  "  He  takes  the  anger 
away."  She  wished  that  David  would  begin 
upon  his  former  line  of  inquiry,  now  that  she 
had  her  little  book  to  consult ;  but  she  could 
not  hurry  him.  David  looked  hard  at  her,  and 
then  his  gloom  seemed  to  come  over  him.  He 
sunk  his  head  again ;  and  Matilda  waited. 

"  What  can  you  tell  me  ?  "  he  said  at  last. 

"  I  don'.t  know.  Perhaps,  if  you  would  try 
it,  my  book  would  tell  you  something." 

"  What  could  it  tell  me  ?  " 

"  Answer  some  of  your  questions,  perhaps." 

David  at  last  roused  to  action.  He  went  off 
upstairs  and  brought  down  his  Bible  —  half 


214  TRADING. 

a  Bible,  it  looked  to  Matilda's  eyes ;  and 
under  the  bright  gas  lights  the  two  sat  down 
to  compare  notes. 

"  I  don't  know  but  a  part  of  the  things 
that  are  said  about  the  Messiah,"  said  David, 
turning  over  the  leaves ;  "  but  what  I  do 
know,  seem  to  me  impossible  to  be  fulfilled  in 
him  you  Gentiles  think  the  Messiah.  And 
yet  —  they  said  —  " 

David  stopped,  in  great  perplexity. 

"  What  are  some  of  those  things  ?  " 

"  Well,  this  is  one.  He  is  to  be  of  the 
seed  of  David ;  for  so  Isaiah  prophesied." 

" 4  And  a  rod  hath  come  out  from  the  stock 
of  Jesse,  and  a  branch  from  his  roots  is  fruit 
ful.  Rested  on  him  hath  the  Spirit  of  Jeho 
vah,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding, 
the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  the  spirit  of 
knowledge  and  fear  of  Jehovah.'  ' 

"  Well,  David,  Jesus  was  that.  See,  —  here 
is  the  whole  list  of  the  names  of  the  people." 
And  she  put  in  the  boy's  hands  the  first 
chapter  of  Matthew. 


TRADING.  215 

" '  The  son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abra 
ham  ' ! "  cried  he ;  but  then  immediately 
became  so  absorbed  in  the  chapter  and  in 
that  list  of  names  which  Matilda  had  always 
thought  very  uninteresting,  that  she  could  only 
watch  him  and  doubt  if  he  would  come  back 
to  talk  with  her  any  more  that  evening. 

"  But,"  said  David  at  last,  handing  back 
her  book,  "  that  is  only  one  thing.  Listen  to 
this.  The  promise  was  to  David  —  '  I  have 
raised  up  thy  seed  after  thee,  who  is  of. thy 
sons,  and  I  have  established  his  kingdom; 
he  doth  build  for  me  a  house,  and  I  have 
established  his  throne  unto  the  age.' 
Where  is  the  throne  of — of  your  Messiah, 
as  you  call  him  ?  And  see  here  again,  in 
the  Psalms  of  David  — 

"  '  I  have  made  a  covenant  for  my  chosen, 
*  I  have  sworn  to  David  my  servant, 
1  Even  to  the  age  do  I  establish  thy  seed, 
'  And   have  built  from  generation  to  gener 
ation  thy  throne.'  >: 

"  What  is  '  to  the  age  '  ?  "  Matilda  asked. 


2l6  TKADINQ. 

"  For  ever !  Where  is  the  throne  of  your 
Jesus  ?  " 

"  It  is  in  heaven,"  said  Matilda  promptly. 

"  But  Messiah  is  to  reign  on  earth." 

"  Now  listen,  David ;  this  is  what  the 
angel  said  of  Jesus,  when  he  came  to  tell 
Mary  that  he  should  be  her  son.  *  He  shall 
be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the 
Highest ;  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto 
him  the  throne  of  his  father  David  ;  and  he 
shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever ; 
and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end.'  " 

"  Well,"  said  David,  "  but  when  ?  and 
where  ?  " 

"  Here  is  another  place  that  my  book  turns 
to,  David  ;  now  listen.  '  David  himself  saith 
in  the  book  of  Psalms,  The  Lord  said  unto 
my  Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  till  I 
make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool.'  ' 

"  Yes,  I  know,  it  says  so." 

"  Well,  David,  then  don't  you  see  he  will 
be  up  in  heaven  until  the  time  comes?  Here 
is  another  passage  —  it  begins  about  some- 


TRADING.  217 

thing  else,  and  then  goes  on  ;  *  Which  he 
wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  and  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand 
in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above  all  princi 
pality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  dominion, 
and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come ; 
and  hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet.'  And 
here  again  — '  But  this  man,  after  he  had 
offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  for  ever,  sat 
down  on  the  right  hand  of  God  ;  from  hence 
forth  expecting  till  his  enemies  be  made  his 
footstool/  " 

"  When  will  that  be  ?  "  said  David. 

«  I  don't  know.     I  don't  think  it  tells." 

"  But  Messiah  is  to  be  a  Conqueror, " 
David  went  on,  passing  from  one  thing  to 
another.  It  is  written,  — 

"  'Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  O 
mighty, 

'  Thy  glory  and  thy  majesty ! 

*  As  to  thy  majesty  —  prosper  !  —  ride  ! 

'  Because  of  truth  and  meekness  —  right 
eousness. 


2*8  TRADING. 

1  And  thy  right  hand  sheweth  thee  fearful 
things. 

1  Thine  arrows  are  sharp, 

1  Peoples  fall  under  thee  — 

1  In  the  heart  of  the  enemies  of  the  king.' " 

"  Where  is  that  ?  "  Matilda  asked,  and 
David  told  her.  She  eagerly  consulted  her 
little  book,  and  then  cried  out, 

"  Why  it  is  the  very  same  thing !  Look 
here,  David;  or  just  listen,  and  I  will  read. 

"  *  And  I  saw  heaven  opened'  — " 

"  Stop.  Who  saw  heaven  opened  ?  Who 
said  that  ?  " 

Matilda  paused.  "  It  is  in  the  Revelation," 
she  said. 

"  Yes,  but  what  is  that  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  exactly  ;  but  I  know  it  is 
the  things  that  were  shown  to  John,  the 
apostle,  about  what  is  going  to  be  by  and 
by." 

«  Who  was  that  John  ?  " 

"  Why,  one  of  the  apostles,  David ;  one  of 
the  twelve  apostles,  that  were  always  with 


TRADING.  219 

Jesus,  and  went  everywhere  with  him  and 
saw  all  that  he  did.  Then  after  he  was  gone, 
they  preached  to  the  people,  and  told  what 
they  had  seen  and  heard." 

"  After  he  was  gone  where  ?  " 

"  Back  to  heaven." 

"  Well — read,"  said  David,  with  a  troubled 
sigh. 

" '  And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold 
a  white  horse ;  and  he  that  sat  on  him  was 
called  Faithful  and  True,  and  in  righteous 
ness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war.  His  eyes 
were  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head  were 
many  crowns;  and  he  had  a  name  written, 
that  no  man  knew  but  he  himself.  And  he 
was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood ; 
and  his  name  is  called  The  Word  of  God. 
And  the  armies  which  were  in  heaven  fol 
lowed  him  upon  white  horses,  clothed  in 
white  linen,  white  and  clean.  And  out  of 
his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it 
he  should  smite  the  nations ;  and  he  shall 
rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  and  he  treadeth 


220  TRADING. 

the  winepress  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of 
Almighty  God.  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture 
and  on  his  thigh  a  name  written,  KING  OP 
KINGS  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS.'  ' 

"  But  he  was  to  be  a  Prophet,  like  Moses," 
said  David  ;  "  and  he  was  to  be  born  in 
Bethlehem  in  the  land  of  Judah." 

«  Well,  he  was,"  said  Matilda. 

«  Then  how  should  he  be  all  that  ?  "  And 
the  boy's  frame  shook,  as  if  a  nervous  shud 
der  had  taken  him. 

"  Don't  you  remember  the  110th  Psalm  ?  ' 
said  Matilda  after  a  little  more  study.  *  The 
Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at  my 
right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy 
footstool.'  Look  at  it." 

David  did  so,  in  his  (J\vn  Scriptures,  and 
pondered  the  words  a  second  time. 

"  And  this  is  what  the  Lord  Jesus  said 
about  those  very  words,  David.  '  While 
the  Pharisees  were  gathered  together,  Jesus 
asked  them,  saying,  What  think  ye  of  Christ? 
whose  son  is  he  ?  They  say  unto  him,  The 


TRADING.  221 

son  of  David.  He  saith  unto  them,  How 
then  doth  David  in  spirit  call  him  Lord, 
saving,  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou 
on  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies 
thy  footstool  ?  If  David  then  call  him  Lord, 
how  is  he  his  son  ?  ' 

"  What  did  they  say  ? "  asked  David 
eagerly. 

"  Who  ?  " 

"  Those  Pharisees.  What  did  they  an 
swer?" 

"  It  says  *  no  man  was  able  to  answer  him 
a  word.'  " 

Poor  David  was  in  the  same  condition. 
"  Well,  go  on,"  he  said,  between  puzzle  and 
despondency. 

Matilda  consulted  her  references  to  see 
with  what  she  should  go  on  ;  and  then  read 
the  three  first  verses  of  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews. 

"  '  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
manners  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers 
by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days 


222  TRADING. 

spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son,  whom  he  hath 
appointed  heir  of  all  things,  by  whom  also 
he  made  the  worlds  ;  who  being  the  brightness 
of  his  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his 
person,  and  upholding  all  things  by  the  word 
of  his  power,  when  he  had  by  himself  purged 
our  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  high.'  ' 

"But  —  but,  —  "  said  David  looking  up, 
"  Messiah  was  to  be  born  in  Bethlehem  of 
Judah,  for  so'  said  the  prophet  Micah." 

"Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem,"  Matilda 
replied. 

"  Bat  —  he  was  called  the  Nazarene,"  said 
David  with  a  kind  of  shiver.  The  boy 
was  terribly  excited,  though  he  controlled 
the  outward  expression  of  his  excitement  as 
much  as  possible. 

"  He  lived  in  Nazareth,"  said  Matilda 
eagerly  ;  "  that  was  his  home." 

"  Then   how  could   he  be   born   in   Bethle- 

». 

hem  ?     It's  near  a  rujndred  miles  off,  Lthink." 
"But   don't   you   know?"    said    Matilda. 


TRADING.  223 

"  Caesar  Augustus  ordered  everybody  to  be 
—  what  is  it  you  call  it  ?  I  forget ;  —  to 
have  their  names  put  down,  in  a  list  of  all 
the  families  and  tribes,  so  that  they  might 
be  taxed  —  " 

"  Taking  the  census  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  ;  maybe  it's  that.  And  so, 
Joseph  and  Mary  had  to  go  to  Bethlehem  to 
have  their  names  put  down  there,  because  it 
was  David's  city,  you  know,  and  they  were 
of  the  house  of  David.  And  while  they 
were  there,  Jesus  was  born.  But  after  a 
while  they  went  back  and  lived  in  Nazareth." 

David  looked  dark,  and  eager ;  he  made 
no  answer. 

"  And  it  says  in  the  first  chapter  of  Mat 
thew,  David,  that  the  prophet  said,  'they 
shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel,  which  being 
interpreted  is,  God  with  us.' ' 

"  It  is  true,"  said  David.  «  So  spoke  the 
prophet  Isaiah.  But  how  then  did  he  speak 
also  of  Messiah's  sufferings  ?  how  could  that 
be?" 


224  TRADING. 

"  Where,  David  ?  and  how  ?  " 

The  boy  turned  over  gloomily  the  leaves 
of  the  book  which  he  held,  and  began  to 
read  at  the  fifty-third  chapter. 

u  '  Who  hath  given  credence  to  that  which 
we  heard  ?  and  the  arm  of  Jehovah,  on  whom 
hath  it  been  revealed  ?  '  " 

"  What  chapter  is  that  ?  "  Matilda  asked  ; 
and  he  told  her.  She  turned  to  the  place. 

"  «  Who  hath  believed  our  report?  '  that  is 
it  exactly,  David.  Don't  you  see  ?  You  do 
not  believe  it,  and  all  the  Jews  do  not  believe 
it,  when  it  is  told  to  them." 

«  What  ?  "  said  David. 

"  Why,  that  Jesus  m  the  Messiah  ;  and  all 
about  him.  *  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of 
men  '  —  see  how  it  goes  on." 

"  What  does  this  mean,  I  wonder,"  said 
David  as  he  looked  over  the  chapter  —  "  l  He 
is  pierced  for  our  transgressions,  Bruised  for 
our  iniquities,  The  chastisement  of  our  peace 
is  on  him,  And  by  his  bruise  there  is  healing 
to  us ' ?  " 


TRADING.  225 

"  This  is  what  it  means,  David  ;  '  the  Son 
of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but 
to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many.'  That  is  in  Matthew.  And  here  in 
Romans  — '  God  commendeth  his  love  toward 
us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ 
died  for  us.  Much  more  then,  being  now 
justified  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from 
wrath  through  him.'  And  in  Corinthians  — 
4  He  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who 
knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  him.'  Don't  you 
see  ?  " 

"  O  hush  !  stop  !  "  said  David  ;  "  you  be 
wilder  me.  Here  Isaiah  goes  on  — 

"  '  Each  to  his  own  way  we  have  turned, 

4  And  Jehovah  hath  caused  to  meet  on  him 

'  The  punishment  of  us  all. 

1  It  hath  been  exacted,  and  he  hath 
answered. 

*  And  he  openeth  not  his  mouth, 

4  As  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter  he  is 
brought  —  '" 

15 


226  TRADING. 

David  stopped  again,  and  Matilda  searched 
for  words  to  answer  him,  and  presently 
read, 

" *  So  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the 
sin  of  many  ;  and  unto  them  that  look  for 
him  shall  he  appear  the  second  time  without 
sin  unto  salvation.' >: 

"  The  second  time  ?  "  said  David. 
"  Yes ;   when  he  comes  to  take  the  king 
dom,  you  know." 
David  sighed  deeply. 

"  David,"  said  Matilda  hesitatingly,  she 
had  been  watching  for  a  chance  to  say  it, 
"  don't  you  know  what  Zechariah  says  about 
him  ?  " 

«  Zechariah  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  the  prophet  Zechariah.  Mr. 
Wharncliffe  says  that  is  a  time  coming  to 
your  people  ;  —  in  the  twelfth  chapter.  You 
can  read  it  best  for  yourself  in  your  own 
book.  It  begins  at  the  ninth  verse  —  what 
I  mean." 

"  This  ?  "  said  David. 


TRAD  IN  a.  227 

"  *  And    I   have   poured  on  the   house   of 
David, 

1  And  on  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
4  A  spirit  of  grace  and  supplications, 

*  And   they   have   looked   unto    me  whom 
they  pierced, 

*  And  they  have  mourned  over  it, 

*  Like  a  mourning  over  the  only  one, 

*  And  they  have  been  in  bitterness  for  it, 
(  Like  a  bitterness  over  the  first-born. 

*  In   that   day   great   is   the   mourning   in 
Jerusalem, 

*  As   the    mourning   of    Hadadrimmon    in 
the  valley  of  Megiddon  ; 

*  And    mourned     hath    the    land  —  every 
family  apart ; 

1  The  family  of  the  house  of  David  apart, 
'  And  their  women  apart ; 
4  The  family  of  the  house  of  Nathan  apart, 
4  And  their  women  apart ; 

*  The  family  of  the  house  of  Levi  apart, 
4  And  their  women  apart ; 

*  The  family  of  Shimei  apart, 


228  Til  ADI  NO. 

1  And  their  women  apart, 

'  All  the  families  that  are  left, 

*  Every  family  apart,  and  their  women 
apart ! '  " 

The  boy's  face  grew  darker  and  darker  as 
he  read,  and  he  remained  gloomily  looking 
at  the  page  after  he  had  finished.  "  It  looks 
like  it !  "  he  said  at  last. 

"  Looks  like  what,  David  ? "  Matilda 
asked  timidly.  His  face  was  very  cloudy  as 
he  lifted  it  to  speak  to  her,  and  he  spoke  with 
difficulty. 

"  They  are  saying,  Matilda,  —  my  uncle, 
I  mean,  and  the  wise  ones ;  —  they  are  saying, 
I  heard  them  saying  it  a  few  weeks  ago, 
softly,  to  each  other,  that  the  time  must  be 
up ;  and  that  if  Messiah  does  not  come  very 
soon  —  " 

"  What  then  ?  "  Matilda  asked,  for  he  had 
stopped  suddenly. 

"  Then  —  they  say  —  it  must  be,  or  may 
be,  that  he  has  come !  " 

She    was    astonished    at    the    changes    in 


TRADING.  229 

David's  face.  It  flushed  and  paled,  his  lips 
quivered,  his  brows  were  knit ;  the  dark  eyes 
were  like  clouds  and  fire  at  once.  Evidently 
there  was  a  struggle  going  on  which  she  had 
no  means  of  gauging. 

"  What  if  he  has  ? "  she  asked  gently. 
"  Would  you  care  so  very  much  ?  " 

"  Care !  "  exclaimed  David,  and  his  ex 
pression  startled  her.  "  Care  !  —  whether 
our  Messiah  has  come,  and  we  have  not 
known  him,  and  have  injured  him  and  re 
jected  him  ?  " 

"  But  that  is  just  what  Isaiah  said  would 
be." 

«  Don't !  "  said  David.  "  I  can't  bear  it ! 
If  that  is  true,  there  will  be  such  a  cry  as 
Zechariah  said,  and  I  will  begin  it.  But  I 
don't  believe  it,  Matilda;  it  cannot  be.  I 
will  not  believe  it." 

He  threw  down  his  book  and  walked  up 
and  down  the  room  with  folded  arms  and  a 
brow  black  as  night.  Hardly  a  boy's  action, 
but  neither  was  it  a  boy's  feeling  which 


230  TRADING. 

possessed  him  just  then.  Matilda  looked  on, 
very  sorry,  very  much  awed,  and  entirely  at 
a  loss  to  know  what  to  say.  She  consulted 
her  Bible  again  and  found  a  passage  which 
she  wished  to  shew  him ;  but  she  had  to 
wait  for  the  chance.  David  walked  up  and 
down,  up  and  down,  restlessly. 

"  I  can't  make  it  out!  "  he  exclaimed.  "  It 
confuses  me.  If  that  were  true,  then  all  our 
whole  nation  have  been  wrong,  all  these 
years;  and  we  have  lost  everything;  the 
promise  made  to  Abraham  and  all." 

"  But  Jesus  will  fulfil  all  the  promises," 
said  Matilda  gently. 

"  To  those  who  disowned  him  ?  "  David 
asked  almost  fiercely. 

«  I  think  he  will,"  said  Matilda.  «  Why 
the  first  Christians  were  some  of  those  very 
Jews." 

"  How  can  that  be  ?  "  said  David  standing 
still  and  looking  at  her. 

Matilda  found  the  second  chapter  of  Acts 
and  handed  it  to  him.  She  thought  her  own 


TRADING.  231 

words  were  best  to  be  few.  David  looked 
unwillingly  at  her  book,  but  however  took  it, 
sat  down,  and  under  the  light  of  the  gas 
burner  began  to  read.  Matilda  could  not 
help  furtively  watching  him,  and  it  almost 
frightened  her;  the  changes  in  the  boy's 
face  were  so  quick  and  strong.  He  read  like 
one  reading  for  his  life ;  he  never  knew  that 
Matilda  was  watching  him  ;  his  eyes  seemed 
to  pierce  the  book  like  steel  lances ;  and 
through  his  parted  lips  the  breath  came  and 
went  hurriedly.  Matilda  thought  he  never 
would  get  through  the  chapter,  he  was  so 
long  over  it. 

"  May  I  keep  this  a  day  or  two  ?  "  he  said 
at  last.  Matilda  joyfully  assented. 

"  I  wish  I  had  some  one  to  talk  with  about 
this,"  he  said ;  "  somebody  who  could  answer 
me,  or  who  could  not  answer  me." 

"  Your  uncles  ?  "  Matilda  suggested. 

u  They  would  only  silence  me." 

"  I  wish  you  could  see  Mr.  Richmond." 

"Who's  he?" 


232  TRADING. 

"  He's  a  friend  of  mine,  and  O,  the  pleas- 
antest  and  the  nicest  man !  and  he  can 
answer  anybody." 

"  Can  he  ?  "  said  David  half  smiling. 
"  Where  does  he  live  ?  " 

"  Up  in  Shadywalk.  I  wish  you  could  see 
him.  He  could  tell  you  just  everything,  and 
I  cannot." 

"  You  have  told  me  so  much,  though, 
that  I  must  know  more.  What  is  this 
Mr.  Richmond?" 

"  He  is  a  minister,  David.  O  you  would 
like  him." 

"  He  would  be  the  first,  then,"  said  David. 

"  He  is  not  the  least  like  Dr.  Blandford 
not  the  least" 

"  Maybe  there's  some  chance  then.  Ma 
tilda,  don't  tell  anybody  of  all  this ;  it  is 
between  you  and  me." 

"  No,  David,  of  course  I  shall  not.  Are 
you  going  to  bed  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  up." 

"  They  won't  be  home  yet  for  an  hour." 


TRADING.  233 

"  I  don't  want  to  see  them  when  they  do 
come." 

"  Nor  have  any  supper?  " 

"  I  don't  care  about  supper.     Good  night." 

He  went  off,  and  Matilda's  heart  was  very 
tender  for  him.  What  could  she  do  ?  He 
had  carried  away  with  him  the  little  reference 
Bible ;  she  could  not  look  out  passages  for 
his  help  any  more.  Had  they  been  for  his 
help  ?  The  whole  talk  looked  very  confused 
to  Matilda  as  she  remembered  it ;  and  David 
evidently  was  in  much  more  trouble  than  he 
shewed.  Matilda  prayed  for  better  help  than 
she  could  give,  prayed  with  all  her  heart ; 
then  found  herself  very  sleepy  and  went  to 
bed. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

TT  was  a  few  nights  after  this,  that  the 
children  were  amusing  themselves  in  the 
same  little  reception  room.  Esther  Francis 
was  with  them,  and  the  elders  were  with 
company  in  the  drawing-room.  The  young 
ones  had  it  all  their  own  way ;  they  had 
taken  tea  together  in  what  Norton  declared 
to  be  a  very  jolly  style ;  and  now  in  a  circle 
of  sociable  dimensions,  that  is,  very  much 
drawn  together,  they  were  talking  over  a 
great  variety  of  things.  All  except  David  ; 
he  hardly  said  anything ;  he  looked  dark  and 
jaded ;  nevertheless  he  listened  to  what  was 
going  on. 

"  I  know  one  thing,"  said  Norton;  "  I  must 
be  off  to  the  country  pretty  soon." 

"  School  term  of  no  consequence  "  —  said 
David. 


TRADING.  235 

"  None  at  all.  You  see,  bulbs  keep  no 
account  with  schoolmasters  ;  the  only  account 
they  keep  is  with  the  sun ;  and  how  they  do 
that  when  the  sun  don't  shew  himself,  passes 
me.  It's  one  of  the  queer  things." 

"  Find  a  good  many  of  them,  Norton  ? " 
asked  Esther  smiling. 

«  Queer  things  ?     Lots !     Don't  you  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know.  There  are  some 
queer  people." 

"  Some.  Just  a  few,  I  should  think  there 
were,"  said  Norton.  "  Enough  to  keep  one 
from  going  to  sleep  with  sameness." 

"  Well,  but  I  don't  find  so  many,"  said 
Esther.  "  Am  I  queer  ?  " 

«  Not  a  bit  of  it  ?  " 

"  You  speak  as  if  it  was  an  honour  to  be 
queer,"  said  the  young  lady,  bridling  her 
pretty  head. 

"  An  honour  ?  I  don't  know  about  that," 
said  Norton.  "  It  certainly  may  be  said  to 
be  a  —  distinction." 

"  Who  is  queer  ?  "  said  Esther.     "  You  ?  " 


236  TRADING. 

11  Not  he,"  said  David. 

"  You  know  best,"  said  Norton,  shaking 
his  curly  head. 

"  He  thinks  he  has  so  much  else  to  dis 
tinguish  him,"  said  Judy,  "  he  can  do  with 
out  that." 

"  Not  your  case,"  said  Norton,  politely 
nodding  at  her. 

"  Don't  depend  upon  your  word,"  said 
Judy  scornfully. 

"  Not  at  all,"  rejoined  Norton  ;  "  it  is  open 
to  the  most  hasty  observer." 

"  Is  Matilda  queer  ?  "  Esther  asked  laugh 
ing. 

"  She'd  never  let  the  world  go  to  sleep," 
said  Norton  contentedly ;  "  at  least,  not  till 
all  could  sleep  comfortably." 

They  laughed  at  that,  and  Matilda  as 
much  as  anybody. 

"  But  what  did  you  mean,  Norton,"  she 
said,  "  about  the  bulbs  and  the  country?" 

"  Just  what  I  said.  It's  the  most  mysteri 
ous  thing,  the  way  the  roots  down  in  the 


TRADING.  237 

earth  know  when  it  is  time  for  them  to  send 
up  their  green  shoots.  They  will  do  it,  too, 
and  when  things  aren't  ready  for  them  by 
any  means  above  ground.  Spring  may  be 
ever  so  late,  and  the  earth  hard  packed  with 
frost,  and  snow  and  clouds  making  you 
believe  it  is  winter  yet ;  and  there  will  come 
the  little  green  shoots  pushing  up  their  heads 
and  telling  you  they  know  what  time  of  year 
it  is,  better  than  you  do.  How  they  get  up 
through  the  frozen  earth  is  more  than  I  know. 
I  tell  you,  they  are  queer." 

"  Then  you  mean  something  good  by 
being  queer,  Norton,"  Matilda  said. 

"  Don't  know  about  that ;  they  are  ahead 
of  the  year,  you  see,  and  that  don't  always 
do.  They  have  a  hard  time  of  it,  some 
times." 

"  But  are  you  going  up  to  see  them  ?  " 

"  Yes;  pretty  soon.  The  coverings  must 
be  taken  off  the  beds,  you  see ;  and  I  must 
look  after  it." 

"  I  arn  so  glad  spring  is  come  again !  " 
said  Esther. 


238  TRADING. 

«  What  for,  you  ?  "  said  Norton.  «  You 
don't  make  garden." 

"  No ;  but  I  can  eat  strawberries." 

"Strawberries!  O  ho,  that's  it.  That's 
what  you  want  spring  for." 

"  I  am  sure  strawberries  are  good,  Norton," 
said  Matilda.  "  Do  you  remember  how  you 
and  I  eat  strawberries  on  the  bank  last  sum 
mer  ?  —  and  made  lists  ?  " 

Norton  gave  her  a  very  intelligent  glance 
of  acknowledgment. 

"  Lists  of  what  ?  "  Judy  asked. 

"  Things  we  were  going  to  have  for  tea," 
Norton  answered  coolly. 

"  O  no,  Norton  —  they  were  not,"  said 
Matilda. 

"  Well,  it  was  something  in  the  house- 
keeping  department" 

41  Housekeeping !  "  cried  Esther. 

«  WThat  is  strange  in  that  ? "  inquired 
Norton  coolly. 

"  Why  you  are  rather  young,  you  and 
Matilda,  to  set  up  housekeeping." 


TRADING.  239 

"  Rather,"  said  Norton  ;  "  so  it  was  some 
body  else,  you  see." 

"  O  it  was  for  somebody  else?  "  said  Esther. 

"  When  are  you  going,  Norton  ?  "  Matilda 
asked  eagerly. 

u  Pretty  soon ;  in  a  week  or  two  more ; 
just  as  soon  as  we  have  a  few  more  spring 
days." 

"  O  how  nice  the  spring  days  are !  "  said 
Matilda.  "  I  am  so  glad  they  are  come 
again." 

"  For  the  strawberries  ?  "  Esther  asked 
archly. 

"  O  no,  not  the  strawberries ;  but  it  is  so 
pleasant  to  see  the  green  grass  again,  and  the 
dandelions." 

"  Dandelions  !  "  exclaimed  Judy. 

"  Yes  indeed  ;  and  the  locust  blossoms ; 
and  the  cows  going  to  pasture  ;  and  yellow 
butterflies  skimming  about;  and  the  nice 
warm  days ;  and  pinks  and  roses." 

"  And  croquet  —  "  said  Norton. 

"  O  croquet  is  delicious  !  "  said  Esther. 


240  TRADING. 

"  I  am  glad,  because  I  like  the  driving," 
said  Norton.  "  It  is  better  than  all  the  Cen 
tral  Parks  in  the  world.  And  the  fishing  is 
jolly,  too  ;  when  you  have  good  sport.  It's 
jolly  altogether,  at  Shadywalk." 

u  But  Norton,  the  house  is  shut  up,"  said 
Matilda. 

"What  about  it?" 

"  What  will  you  do  ?  you  can't  manage 
all  alone." 

"  Go  to  Kepple's.     That's  easy  " 

"  How  long  will  you  stay  ?  " 

"  Two  or  three  days.  I  guess  I'll  take  the 
Easter  holidays  —  that's  just  the  thing." 

What  was  said  next  for  a  few  minutes, 
Matilda  did  not  hear;  she  was  musing  so 
intently;  then  she  broke  out, — 

"  O  Norton !  I  wonder  if  I  might  go  with 
you  ?  " 

"  You  ?  That  would  be  jolly,"  said  Norton. 

"  I  could  go  to  Mr.  Richmond's,  you  know ; 
and  then  we  could  see  all  about  our  tulip  and 
hyacinth  beds ;  and  it  would  be  so  pleasant!  " 


TRADING.  241 

"  Well ;  suppose  you  do.     I'm  agreed." 

"Do  you  think  mamma  would  like  it?  " 

"  We'll  coax  her  into  thinking  it's  a  splen 
did  plan,"  said  Norton  ;  "  and  that's  what 
it  is." 

Matilda's  eye  went  furtively  over  to  Da 
vid  ;  he  met  it,  but  she  could  not  tell  what 
he  thought.  Hope  and  pleasure  made  her 
cheeks  flush  high.  Judy  tossed  her  head. 

"  Why  don't  you  ask  me  ?  "  she  said. 

"  I  haven't  asked  anybody  yet,"  said 
Norton. 

"  I  should  like  to  go  too.  Will  you  take 
me?" 

lt  Would  you  like  to  say  what  you  would 
do  if  you  got  there  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know!  "  laughed  Judy. 

"  I  do.  All  the  mischief  you  could 
manage.  No,  thank  you.  I  should  have  to 
sit  next  you  at  the  hotel  table." 

"  What  harm  would  that  do  ?  "  said 
Esther,  laughing. 

"  I  should  find  mustard  in  my  coffee  and 
16 


242  TRADING. 

pepper  in  my  pudding  sauce,"  said  Norton. 
"  No  harm,  only  rather  spoils  the  coffee  and 
rather  hurts  the  pudding  sauce." 

Matilda  looked  suddenly  at  Norton,  and  so 
did  Judy,  but  they  saw  he  was  only  speaking 
at  random  and  did  not  know  how  close 
he  was  coming  to  the  truth.  Then  the 
two  pairs  of  eyes  met  involuntarily.  Judy 
laughed  carelessly. 

"  I'll  go,  if  you  go,"  she  said  to  Norton. 
«  At  least,  if  Matilda  goes,  I'll  go." 

This  time  Matilda's  and  David's  eyes  met. 
He  smiled,  and  she  took  comfort. 

As  soon  as  a  good  opportunity  could  be 
found,  the  plan  was  broached  to  Mrs.  Laval, 
and  urged  by  both  her  children.  She  de 
murred  a  little  ;  but  finally  consented,  on  the 
strength  of  Norton's  plea  that  it  would  do 
Matilda  good.  From  this  time  the  days 
were  full  of  delightful  hope  and  preparation. 
Only  David  lay  on  Matilda's  thoughts  wiili 
a  weight  of  care  and  longing.  Once  she 
caught  an  opportunity,  when  they  were 


TRADING.  243 

alone,  to  seize  his  hand  and  whisper,  u  Oh 
David,  can't  you  come  too,  and  see  Mr. 
Richmond  ?  "  And  he  had  answered  very 
gravely  that  he  did  not  know ;  he  would 
see. 

Easter  fell  this  year  rather  late  in  April ; 
late,  that  is,  for  Easter.  Schools  were  dis 
missed  on  Thursday ;  and  Thursday  after 
noon  Matilda  and  Norton  were  to  take  the 
cars  for  Shadywalk.  She  could  not  say 
another  word  to  David,  or  about  him ;  she 
made  her  happy  preparations  with  a  secret 
unsatisfied  longing  running  through  them  all. 
Judy  had  made  an  earnest  endeavour  to  be 
one  of  the  party ;  and  Matilda  did  not  know 
how,  but  the  endeavour  had  failed.  And 
now  the  early  dinner  was  eaten,  her  little 
travelling  bag  was  packed,  the  carriage  was 
at  the  door,  good  byes  were  said,  and  Matilda 
got  into  the  carriage.  At  that  exact  minute 
David  came  out  of  the  house  with  his  travel 
ling  bag  in  hand,  and  in  a  minute  more  the 
house  door  was  shut,  so  wTas  the  carriage 


244  TRADING. 

door,  and  they  were  all  three  rolling  off 
towards  the  Station. 

"O  David,  I'm  so  glad!"  burst  from  Ma 
tilda.  "  How  did  you  manage  it  ?  " 

"  Like  himself,"  said  Norton  ;  "  kept  his  own 
counsel  and  had  his  own  way.  It's  a  good 
thing  to  be  Davy  Bartholomew." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  David. 

"  Don't  you  ?  Never  heard  a  doubt  on 
that  subject  expressed  before.  But  anyhow, 
it's  jolly  to  have  you  along,  Davy.  Why 
you've  never  seen  Shadywalk,  nor  Briery 
Bank." 

Matilda  smiled  a  very  bright  and  expressive 
smile  at  David  which  said,  "nor  Mr.  Richmond 
either."  The  smile  was  so  genial  and  glad 
and  winsome  that  it  cheated  David  out  of 
some  part  of  his  gloom ;  or  perhaps  he  thought 
it  unworthy  to  shew  it  before  his  kind  little 
companion.  He  brightened  up,  and  talked 
about  the  things  that  were  interesting  her 
and  Norton ;  and  at  the  station  behaved  like 
the  manly  boy  he  was ;  getting  tickets  and 


TRADING.  245 

taking  care  of  Matilda  and  finding  a  good 
place  in  the  cars  where  they  could  all  sit 
together.  The  moment  was  so  full  of  joy  to 
Matilda  that  it  made  her  sober.  Going  to 
see  her  old  haunts  and  old  friends  was  a 
great  deal  of  itself;  going  on  an  expedition 
with  Norton  was  delightsome ;  but  that  Da 
vid  should  really  be  going  too,  to  see  Mr. 
Richmond,  almost  took  away  her  breath  with 
gladness.  The  slow  movement  of  the  cars, 
beginning  to  roll  away  from  the  station,  was 
accompanied  by  a  perfect  leap  and  bound  of 
her  little  heart  making  an  aerial  flight  on  the 
instant  to  the  end  of  the  journey. 

The  end  of  the  journey,  however,  had  to 
be  reached  by  the  usual  patient,  or  impatient, 
stages.  Patient  in  this  case,  to  Matilda. 
She  was  so  happy  that  she  enjoyed  every  foot 
of  the  way.  The  spring  sunlight  on  the  river 
it  was  quite  delightful  to  see  again  ;  the  dif 
ferent  stations  on  the  road  were  passed  with 
curious  recollections  of  the  last  time,  and 
comparisons  of  herself  now  and  herself  then. 


246  TRADING. 

The  evening  fell  by  the  time  they  reached 
Poughkeepsie  ;  and  shadowy  visions  of  Maria 
seemed  to  occupy  all  the  place  while  the 
t rui n  stopped  there.  Poor  Maria  !  Matilda 
was  glad  to  have  the  cars  move  on,  since  she 
could  get  no  nearer  than  visions.  Then  it 
grew  dark  ;  and  she  sat  musing  and  dream 
ing  pleasant  dreams,  till  the  station  of  Shady- 
walk  was  whistled  for. 

The  old  omnibus  was  in  waiting,  as  usual, 
and  it  happened  that  no  other  passenger  occu 
pied  it  to-night  except  their  three  selves  and 
one  cosy  old  lady,  who  "didn't  count,"  Nor 
ton  said.  It  was  dark;  they  could  not  see 
the  landscape. 

"  Briery  Bank  ought,  to  be  worth  a  good 
deal,"  said  David,  "  when  it  takes  so  long  to 
reach  it." 

"  So  it  is,"  said  Norton. 

"  O  it's  lovely,  David ! "  cried  Matilda. 
"  Not  so  much  now,  though,  when  the  leaves 
are  not  out." 

"  Are  you  going  to  the  minister's  to-night  ?  " 


TEADINO.  247 

"  To  be  sure  I  am.  Mr.  Richmond  would 
be  very  much  surprised  if  I  went  anywhere 
else." 

"  Well,  when  I  get  the  beds  uncovered, 
Pink,  I'll  come  for  you  ;  and  we  can  see  what 
we  will  do." 

"  You'll  come  with  me  to-night,  Norton  ?  " 

"  I'll  let  Davy  see  you  there,  while  I  make 
arrangements." 

"  What  arrangements  ?  O  come  now, 
Norton.  Mr.  Richmond  will  like  to  see  you." 

"  He  can  wait  till  to-morrow,  I  dare  say," 
replied  Norton.  "  Anyhow,  I  can.  You  will 
be  enough  for  to-night." 

"  What  sort  of  a  man  is  the  one  you  are 
talking  of?"  David  asked  Norton. 

"  He's  a  brick,"  said  Norton,  and  began  to 
whistle  ;  then  interrupted  himself.  "  But  he 
is  Pink's  friend,  you  understand,  much  more 
than  mine." 

"  Some  old  tutor  of  yours  ?  "  said  David 
smiling. 

"  Old !  not  exactly.      Nor  a  tutor  neither, 


248  TRADING. 

that  ever  I  heard  ;  though  he  does  teach  folks, 
or  tries  to.  No,  you're  out,  Davy.  I  tell 
you,  he's  a  brick." 

"  O  we're  going  over  the  bridge  now,  Nor 
ton  !  "  Matilda  exclaimed.  "  We're  almost 
there.  Look  !  I  can  see  lights,  can't  I  ?  " 

There  was  no  question  about  it  in  a  few 
minutes  more.  Norton  got  out  at  the  Shady- 
walk  hotel ;  and  the  omnibus  lumbered  on 
through  Butternut  Street  to  the  parsonage 
gate  and  drew  up  at  last  before  the  old  brown 
door.  But  it  was  too  dark  to  see  colours.  In 
deed  David  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  the 
knocker  ;  and  meanwhile  the  omnibus  lum 
bered  off,  while  they  were  not  attending. 
David  knocked  and  knocked  again.  Matilda 
was  trembling  with  delight. 

"  There's  nobody  at  home,"  said  David. 
«  It  is  all  dark." 

But  at  that  instant  a  step  was  heard  in 
the  hall,  and  the  door  was  opened.  A  little 
light  that  came  from  within  a  door  some 
where  beyond  revealed  nothing  except  the  out 
line  of  a  figure. 


TEADINO.  249 

"  Who  is  it  ?  "  said  a  voice.  "  My  lamp's 
gone  out ;  I  guess  it  wants  a  new  wick. 
Who's  here  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  know  me,  Miss  Redwood  ?  " 
said  Matilda's  voice,  quivering  with  pleas 
ure. 

"  Don't  know  anybody  without  I  see  'em. 
I  ain't  called  to  guess  who  you  be,  as  I  know. 
Come  in,  if  you  want  to,  and  tell  your  errand. 
Is  it  me  or  the  minister  you're  after  ?  " 

"  Miss  Redwood,  it's  Matilda  Laval.  And 
I'm  so  glad  to  see  you !  "  said  Matilda,  waiv 
ing  further  recognition  and  throwing  her 
arms  round  the  housekeeper's  neck.  "  O  I'm 
so  glad  to  see  you!  Is  Mr.  Richmond  at 
home  ?  " 

"  Tilly  Englefield !  "  exclaimed  the  house 
keeper  in  her  turn.  "  Wherever  did  the  child 
come  from  ?  Mr.  Richmond  ?  —  no,  he  ain't 
to  home  yet,  but  he  will  be  directly.  Come 
in,  child,  and  take  off  your  things.  Who's 
this  other  one  ?  " 

"  My    cousin    David    Bartholomew,    Miss 


250  TRADING. 

Redwood.  O  David,  come  in!  Don't  go, 
till  Mr.  Richmond  comes." 

"  Yes,  come  right  in,"  said  Miss  Redwood 
heartily.  "  You're  just  in  time  for  tea  ;  for 
the  minister's  been  out  as  usual  all  the  after 
noon  ;  he  had  to  ride  to  Suffield,  and  he  ain't 
home  yet.  Come  right  in  here." 

She  drew  Matilda,  and  David  followed, 
into  the  little  dining  room,  where  the  lamp 
shone  and  the  tea  table  stood  looking  very 
hospitable.  David  made  some  proposition 
of  going  back  to  the  hotel  and  Norton  ;  but 
Matilda  was  very  urgent  that  he  should  not, 
and  Miss  Redwood  very  positive  on  the 
same  subject ;  and  to  Matilda's  surprise  Da 
vid  made  no  great  opposition.  He  sat  down 
quietly  enough.  Meanwhile  the  housekeeper 
took  off  Matilda's  wrappings  and  examined 
her  with  her  eyes. 

"  La !  it  does  look  natural  to  see  you  !  "  she 
broke  out.  "  But  you  ain't  so  little  as  you 
was ;  and,  my  !  —  but  I  suppose  it's  New 
York." 


TRADING.  251 

"  What's  New  York  ?  "  inquired  Matilda 
laughing. 

"  Well,  'taint  so  easy  to  tell.  I  don't  know 
myself.  But  it's  all  over  you,  from  the  hair 
of  your  head  down  to  the  soles  of  your  boots. 
You  ain't  the  same  you  was." 

"  Yes,  I  am,  Miss  Redwood;  just  the  same!" 

"  La,  child,  you  don't  feel  that  you've 
growed,  do  you  ?  Folks  grow  in'ardly  and 
out'ardly ;  and  they  change,  too,  in'ardly 
and  out'ardly ;  and  it's  other  folks  that  see 
it,  not  them." 

"  But  how  do  you  think  I'm  changed,  Miss 
Redwood  ?  I  am  sure  you're  mistaken." 

The  housekeeper  gave  another  benevolent, 
keen  look  at  her,  smiling  a  little,  and  then 
went  off  into  her  pantry  without  answering. 

"  It's  all  right  I  made  gingerbread  to-day," 
she  said,  coming  out  with  a  beautiful  loaf  of 
that  article.  "  Have  you  had  any  dinner  ? 
I'll  be  bound  you'd  like  some  beef  and  eggs. 
Wait  a  bit,  and  you  shall  have  it.  Mr.  Rich 
mond  will  be  all  ready  for  it  too,  after  his 


252  TRADING. 

ride.  I  reckon  you  hain't  much  to  do  with 
handling  of  spiders  now?"  This  with  a 
sidelong  glance  at  Matilda. 

"  No,  Miss  Redwood ;  I  haven't  time  for 
such  things." 

"  How  do  ye  expect  to  keep  house  one  o' 
these  days,  if  you  don't  know  how  ?  " 

"That's  a  great  way  off,"  said  Matilda 
smiling. 

"  Just  as  it  happens,"  said  the  housekeeper. 
"  You're  eleven  or  twelve  this  summer ; 
which  is  it  ?  and  you  won't  be  any  wiser  in 
the  kitchen  just  by  growing  older  in  the 
parlour." 

"  I  know  some  things  now,  Miss  Redwood.'' 

"  La,  child,  knowledge  ain't  all ;  it's  prac 
tice  ;  and  you  ain't  in  the  way  to  practise 
much,  I  can  see.  That's  the  fashion  now-a- 
days ;  young  heads  filled  full  and  clever, 
maybe  ;  and  hands  as  empty  and  useless  as 
ever  hands  kin  be.  Now  I  don't  believe,  for 
my  part,  that  our  hands  was  given  us  to  do 
nothin'." 


TRADING.  253 

«  O  no,  nor  I,"  said  Matilda. 

"  Well,  then,  what  be  your  hands  learning  ? 
See  if  I'm  wrong." 

Matilda  cast  about  how  to  answer,  for  in 
truth  her  hands  had  got  no  new  skill  in  the 
past  months,  although  the  old  skill  had  come 
in  play  very  conveniently.  While  she  hes 
itated,  came  the  welcome  sound  of  the  open 
ing  and  closing  front  door.  Mr.  Richmond 
was  returned.  His  steps  went  however  first 
upstairs,  and  then  came  down  and  went  into 
the  study.  Miss  Redwood  had  disappeared 
and  was  getting  her  beef  ready  in  the  kitchen. 
Matilda  could  wait  no  longer.  Taking  Da 
vid's  hand  and  gently  persuading  him  to 
allow  of  her  leading,  she  went  to  the  study 
door  and  knocked. 

Mr.  Richmond  had  just  made  the  fire  blaze 
up ;  so  they  had  light  to  see  each  other  by. 
David  stood  by  and  watched  the  greeting;  it 
was  very  glad  and  affectionate,  he  saw,  on 
both  sides,  with  a  certain  tender  confidence 
that  impressed  him.  He  was  surprised  also 


254  TRADING. 

to  see  that  Mr.  Richmond  was  so  young  a 
man  and  so  handsome  a  man;  and  when  the 
brilliant  eyes  were  turned  on  himself  he  \v;i.s 
quite  susceptible  to  their  fascination.  Matilda 
lost  no  time. 

"  David  Bartholomew,  Mr.  Richmond  ;  one 
of  my  new  cousins,  you  know.  And  .Mr. 
Richmond,  —  David  knows  about  the  Mes 
siah  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  he  wants  to 
know  if  the  Messiah  is  Jesus  ;  and  so  I  wanted 
him  to  see  you,  because  you  could  tell  him; 
and  so  I  got  him  to  come  with  me." 

If  David's  shyness  was  at  all  disturbed  by 
this  speech,  it  was  entirely  soothed  again  by 
Mr.  Richmond's  reception  of  it,  and  of  him. 
The  genial,  frank  clasp  of  his  hand,  the  kindly, 
free  glance  of  the  blue  eyes,  quite  won  David, 
as  it  was  apt  to  win  everybody  ;  and  in  a 
minute  more  he  found  himself  sitting  at  his 
ease  in  this  strange  house,  perfectly  con  ten  led 
to  be  then1,  and  inlen-sted  to  wa;eh  Matilda's 
intercourse  with  her  old  friend  and  her  pict 
ure  in  it  There  was  time  for  but  little,  how- 


TRADING.  255 

ever,  before  Miss  Redwood's  activity  had  got 
the  "  beef  and  eggs  "  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
tea-table  in  a  state  of  readiness,  and  her  call 
summoned  them  into  the  other  room.  David 
made  a  little  demur  about  staying,  instantly 
overruled  both  by  Mr.  Richmond  and  Matilda, 
and  he  sat  down  with  the  rest.  And  if  he 
said  little,  the  other  three  tongues  were  busy 
enough. 

"  And  how  do  you  like  New  York  ?  "  in 
quired  the  housekeeper.  Matilda's  answer 
was  very  unqualified. 

"  'Tain't  no  better  a  place  than  this,  is  it  ?  " 
the  lady  asked  rather  defiantly. 

"  It  is  a  larger  place,  Miss  Redwood,"  said 
the  minister. 

"  Ain't  Shadywalk  big  enough  for  a  little 
mite  of  a  thing  like  her?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  the  minister.  "  *  Big 
enough '  depends  upon  what  she  wants,  or 
what  anybody  wants.  I  knew  a  man  once 
who  said  he  had  seen  everything  in  the  world 
there  was  to  be  seen,  and  he  was  quite  at  a 


256  TRADING. 

loss  what  to  do  with  himself.  You  perceive 
the  world  was  not  '  big  enough  '  for  him. 
And  another  man  once  wrote,  '  My  mind  to 
me  a  kingdom  is.'  Difference  of  taste,  you 
see." 

"  That  first  fellow  thought  his  head  was 
only  made  to  set  his  eyes  in,  I  s'pose,"  said 
the  housekeeper  dryly. 

"  Seemed  to  be  all  the  use  he  had  for  it," 
said  the  minister. 

"But  that  other  man,"  said  Matilda, — 
"  was  he  contented  with  himself  all  alone,  and 
wanted  nothing  else  ?  " 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  Mr.  Richmond  smiling. 
"  That's  a  new  view  of  the  case.  Your  king 
David  hit  the  truth  more  surely,"  he  went  on 
addressing  David,  "  when  he  said, '  The  Lord 
is  the  portion  of  my  inheritance.'  " 

David's  eye  brightened ;  but  then  he  said, 

"  I  have  read  the  words,  but  I  never  under 
stood  exactly  what  he  meant." 

"  Your  people,  you  remember,  on  taking 
possession  of  the  promised  land,  had  it  divided 


TRADING.  257 

to  them  by  lot ;  each  tribe  and  family  took 
its  share  as  it  was  portioned  out  to  them  by 
Joshua." 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  David  answered. 

"  So  from  that  time  each  family  had  its 
own  inalienable  lands,  which  were  the  inher 
itance  of  that  family ;  its  portion  and  riches ; 
for  the  Hebrews  were  not  in  those  days  a 
commercial  people." 

David  assented,  looking  a  little  surprised. 

"  What  should  a  man  mean,  who  declared, 
disregarding  all  this,  that  his  portion  and  in 
heritance  was  the  Lord  himself?  " 

The  boy's  keen,  intelligent  eyes  looked 
deep  into  the  intent  blue  ones  regarding 
him. 

"  Sir,  I  do  not  know,"  he  said  at  length. 
"  Was  it,  that  he  expected  the  Highest  would 
give  him  greater  possessions  ?  " 

"  Notice,  he  says  not  his  inheritance  is 
from  the  Lord,  but  is  the  Lord  himself." 

"  I  don't  understand  it,"  said  David. 


17 


258  TRADING. 

"  In  another  place,  when  he  was  nearly 
done  with  earthly  possessions,  he  says  again, 
*  My  flesh  and  my  heart  faileth  ;  but  God  is 
the  strength  of  my  heart  and  my  portion  for 
ever.'  It  is  an  inheritance  that  exists  beyond 
time,  you  see." 

"  I  don't  understand  it,  sir,"  David  repeated. 

"  And  in  that  sixteenth  psalm  he  goes  on 
to  declare  his  content  in  his  portion,  in  that  it 
is  not  of  earth.  '  The  lines  are  fallen  unto 
me  in  pleasant  places ;  yea,  I  have  a  goodly 
heritage/  There  is  a  word  in  the  New  Tes 
tament  that  explains  it,"  Mr.  Richmond  went 
on,  looking  keenly  at  David  ;  "  a  word  of  one 
who  was  in  the  same  case ;  and  he  says  of 
the  children  of  God,  <  And  if  children,  then 
heirs;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with 
Messiah.'  " 

David  started  and  shivered,  as  if  a  nerve 
had  suddenly  been  touched ;  but  Mr.  Rich 
mond  went  on  to  something  else,  as  if  he  had 
not  observed  it.  All  through  supper  time  he 


TRADING.  259 

was  so  gentle,  pleasant,  and  spirited  too  in 
his  talk,  that  the  boy  who  was  unaccustomed 
to  such  society  felt  the  charm  holding  him; 
and  Matilda  who  had  not  known  it  for  long, 
felt  like  a  flower  opening  to  the  sunshine. 


CHAPTER    X. 

A  FTER  tea  Mr.  Richmond  led  the  way 
back  to  his  study.  The  first  thing  he 
did  there  was  to  make  the  fire  blaze  up  mer 
rily;  and  then,  just  as  David  was  thinking 
how  to  take  leave,  the  blue  eyes  came  full 
round  upon  him,  with  a  look  as  bright  as  the 
fire  shine. 

"  And  so,"  he  said,  "  you  are  seeking  after 
your  Messiah  ?  " 

David  seemed  tongue-tied;  he  said  noth 
ing;  he  bowed  slightly. 

"  How  far  have  you  got  ?  " 

"  Far  enough  to  be  confused,  sir." 

«  Ay?     How  is  that?" 

"  I  feel  myself  too  ignorant  yet  to  be  able 
to  judge.  Our  wise  men  are  saying — I 
heard  them  saying  —  that  if  Messiah  come 


TRADING.  261 

not  soon,  he  must  have  come."  David's  col 
our  changed  even  as  he  spoke. 

"  Do  you  know  anything  of  the  New  Tes 
tament,  the  record  of  the  life  and  teaching, 
and  death  and  resurrection,  of  Jesus  ?  " 

"  Very  little,"  David  answered.  "  Matilda 
has  shewn  me  passages  in  those  writings  — 
which  have  struck  me  very  much,"  he  added, 
as  if  with  difficulty. 

"  I  should  think  they  would.  Well,  when 
a  thing  is  to  be  done,  the  best  way  is  to  do 
it.  Suppose  you  take  the  book  in  your  hands 
now,  and  let  me  direct  your  attention  to  one 
or  two  things  more." 

David  was  very  ready.  He  took  the  book 
Mr.  Richmond  placed  in  his  hands  and  drew 
near  to  the  table,  while  Matilda  on  her  part 
seized  another  Bible  and  did  likewise.  Mr. 
Richmond  had  been  lighting  the  lamp.  Be 
fore  he  had  finished  his  preparations,  David 
began. 

"  But  that  story  of  the  resurrection  is  a 
very  unlikely  one." 


262  TRADING. 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  The  same  might  be 
said  of  the  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea  by  your 
fathers." 

"  That  is  well  enough  attested  by  wit 
nesses,"  said  David,  proudly  raising  his  head. 

"  So  is  this.  If  a  thing  can  be  made  sure 
by  the  testimony  of  credible  witnesses,  this 
has  been  ;  witnesses  who  were  ready  to  go  to 
the  death  in  support  of  their  words,  and  who 
did  so  die,  many  of  them." 

"  But,"  said  David,  "  our  Messiah  was  to 
be  the  King  of  our  people ;  and  your  Christ 
belongs  to  the  Gentiles." 

"Thank  God  he  does!"  said  Mr.  Rich 
mond  smiling.  "  But  now  let  us  see  if  you 
are  correct  in  that  first  statement" 

"He  was  to  be  a  King  on  David's  throne," 
interrupted  the  boy. 

"  He  is.  Wait.  Do  you  remember,  in 
the  promise  to  Abraham  it  was  said  that  all 
the  families  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed  in 
him  ?  » 

«  Yes." 


TRADING.  263 

"  And  Isaiah  declares,  '  In  that  day  there 
shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse,  which  shall  stand  for 
an  ensign  of  the  people ;  to  it  shall  the  Gen 
tiles  seek.1  " 

"  Yes,  but  they  will  come  to  Messiah ;  not 
the  Messiah  go  to  them,"  said  David,  lifting 
his  head  with  the  same  air  again. 

Mr.  Richmond  answered  in  words  of  Isaiah. 
"  '  Behold  my  servant,  whom  I  uphold ;  mine 
elect,  in  whom  my  soul  delighteth ;  I  have 
put  my  Spirit  upon  him :  he  shall  bring  forth 
judgment  to  the  Gentiles.'  And  again  in 
the  forty-ninth  chapter  —  and  Master  Bar 
tholomew,  you  know  that 'these  words  were 
spoken  of  Messiah  — '  And  now,  saith  the 
Lord  that  formed  me  from  the  womb  to  be 
his  servant,  to  bring  Jacob  again  to  him. 
Though  Israel  be  not  gathered,  yet  shall  I  be 
glorious  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  and  my  God 
shall  be  my  strength.  And  he  said,  It  is  a 
light  thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my  servant 
to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore 
the  preserved  of  Israel :  I  will  also  give  thee 


264  TRADING. 

for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayost 
be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth.'  " 

Matilda  looked  eagerly  at  David  as  these 
words  were  finished ;  the  boy's  face  was 
troubled  and  dark.  He  made  no  answer. 

"  Now  let  us  see  how  those  words  were  to 
be  fulfilled/'  Mr.  Richmond  went  on.  "  It  is 
a  hard  reading  for  you ;  but  we  are  seeking 
the  truth,  and  you  are  seeking  it.  The  apos 
tle  John,  one  of  the  servants  and  witnesses 
of  Christ,  says,  '  He  came  unto  his  own,  and 
his  own  received  him  not.'  ' 

David  looked  up  with  a  white  face.  "  If 
that  is  true  "  -  lie  said.  "  I  just  want  to 
know  whether  that  is  true  !  " 

"  You  know  Isaiah  said  it  would  be  true. 
4  Who  has  believed  our  report?  '  '  He  is  de 
spised  and  rejected  of  men ;  ...  we  hid  as 
it  were  our  faces  from  him  ;  he  was  despised, 
and  we  esteemed  him  not.'  " 

"  Some  of  the  rabbis  held  that  there  were 
two  Messiahs,"  David  said. 

"  Because  they  knew  not   how   to   under- 


TRADING.  265 

stand  of  one  the  various  seemingly  contradic 
tory  things,  which  were  and  are  all  fulfilled 
in  Jesus." 

"  Of  Nazareth,"  said  David. 

"  Yes,  he  lived  there  ;  but  he  was  born  in 
the  city  of  David.  Come,  you  do  not  know 
him,  and  it  is  needful  you  should.  Let  us 
read  this  first  chapter  of  John  all  through." 

They  read  slowly,  with  many  interruptions. 
David  had  explanations  to  ask,  and  then 
there  were  prophecies  to  consult.  The  boy's 
eagerness  and  excitement  infected  his  com 
panions  ;  the  reading  began  to  take  on  a  sort 
of  life  and  death  interest,  though  Mr.  Rich 
mond  kept  it  calm,  with  some  difficulty. 

His  next  proposition  was,  that  they  should 
go  through  the  life  of  Christ  regularly ;  and 
they  began  with  the  first  chapters  of  Luke. 
Nothing  that  Matilda  had  ever  known  in  her 
life  was  like  the  interest  of  that  reading. 
David  was  startled,  curious,  excited,  as  if  he 
were  beginning  to  find  the  clue  to  a  mystery ; 
though  he  did  not  admit  that.  On  the  con- 


266  TRADING. 

trary,  he  studied  every  step,  would  understand 
every  allusion,  and  verify  every  reference  to 
the  Old  Testament  scriptures.  The  boy's 
cheeks  were  flushed  now,  like  one  in  a  fever. 
The  hours  flew. 

"  My  boy,"  said  Mr.  Richmond,  laying  his 
hand  on  David's  open  book,  "  we  cannot  fin 
ish  what  we  want  to  do  this  evening." 

David  looked  up,  pushed  his  hair  off  his 
face,  and  recollected  himself. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  he  said.  "  I  have 
taken  up  a  great  deal  of  your  time." 

"  You  shall  have  a  great  deal  more,"  said 
Mr.  Richmond  smiling ;  "  but  we  had  better 
sleep  upon  it  first.  And  pray,"  he  added 
soberly.  "  Pray,  that  if  this  Jesus  is  indeed 
He  whom  you  seek,  you  may  know  him." 

David  bowed  silently,  feeling  too  much  ap 
parently  to  say  anything.  When,  however, 
he  would  have  taken  leave,  Mr.  Richmond 
detained  him  and  would  not  hear  of  it.  Nor 
ton,  he  said,  would  not  miss  him ;  he  would 
be  gone  to  bed  by  this  time,  tired  of  waiting ; 


TEADINO.  267 

and  they  would  send  and  invite  him  to  break 
fast.  To  Matilda's  surprise,  and  as  well  to 
her  huge  delight,  she  saw  that  David  was 
won  by  the  influence  that  had  long  been  so 
potent  with  her,  and  made  no  very  great  op 
position.  Miss  Redwood  was  called  in  to 
prayers,  and  after  that  the  little  family  sep 
arated  for  the  night 

Matilda  thought  she  surely  would  not  go 
to  sleep  soon ;  but  she  did,  nearly  as  her  face 
touched  the  pillow.  So  it  was  not  till  she 
awoke  in  the  morning  that  she  could  think 
over  her  happiness.  It  was  early  yet ;  the 
sunbeams  striking  the  old  cream  coloured 
tower  of  the  church  and  glittering  on  the  pine 
leaves  here  and  there.  How  delicious  it  was ! 
The  spring  light  on  the  old  things  that  she 
loved,  and  the  peaceful  Shadywalk  stillness 
after  New  York's  bustle  and  roar.  And  Da 
vid  Bartholomew  in  Mr.  Richmond's  house! 
and  Norton  coming  to  breakfast!  With  that, 
Matilda  jumped  up.  Perhaps  she  might  help 
Miss  Redwood  ;  at  any  rate  she  could  see  her. 


268  TRADING. 

Miss  Redwood  was  in  full  blast  of  business 
by  the  time  Matilda's  little  figure  appeared 
at  the  kitchen  door. 

"  Don't  say  you're  up,  and  down ! "  said 
the  housekeeper. 

"  Yes,  Miss  Redwood ;  I  thought  perhaps 
I  could  help  you." 

"  Do  you  wear  dresses  like  that  into  the 
kitchen?"  the  housekeeper  asked,  with  a  side 
long  glance  at  the  beautiful  merino  Matilda 
had  on. 

"  I  don't  go  into  the  kitchen  now-a-days." 

"  Thought  not.  Nor  you  don't  never  put 
on  a  frock  fit  to  make  gingerbread  in,  now 
do  you?" 

«  I  don't  think  I  do." 

"  Well,  what  are  your  gowns  good  for, 
then  ?  " 

"  Good  for  ?  "  said  Matilda  ;  "  why,  they 
are  good  for  other  things,  Miss  Redwood." 

"  I  don't  think  a  gown  is  worth  much  that 
is  too  good  to  work  in ;  it  is  just  a  bag  to 
pack  so  many  hours  of  your  life  in,  and  lose 


TRADING.  269 

"  Lose  them  how  ?  " 

"  By  not  doin'  anythin',  child !  What's 
life  if  it  ain't  busy  ?  " 

"  But  don't  you  have  company  dresses, 
Miss  Redwood  ?  " 

"  I  don't  let  company  hinder  my  work 
much,"  said  Miss  Redwood,  as  she  shoved  a 
pan  of  biscuits  into  the  oven  of  the  stove. 
"  What  do  you  think  'ud  become  of  the  min 
ister  ?  " 

"  O  yes ! "  said  Matilda  laughing  ;  "  but 
then,  you  see,  I  haven't  got  any  minister  to 
take  care  of." 

"  Maybe  you  will,  some  day,"  said  Miss 
Redwood  with  a  kind  of  grim  smile ;  "  and 
if  you  don't  know  how,  what'll  become  of 
you  ?  or  of  him  either  ?  " 

It  seemed  a  very  funny  and  very  unlikely 
supposition  to  Matilda.  "  I  don't  think  I 
shall  ever  have  anybody  to  take  care  of  but 
mamma  and  Norton,"  she  said  smiling. 

"  I  s'pose  they've  money  enough  to  make 
it  easy,"  said  Miss  Redwood.  "  But  some 
how  —  that  don't  seem  to  me  livin'." 


270 

«  What,  Miss  Redwood  ?  " 

"That  sort  o'  way  o'  goin'  on; — havin' 
money  do  all  for  you  and  you  do  nothin'. 
Havin'  it  do  all  for  your  friends  too.  /don't 
think  life's  life,  without  you  have  somebody 
to  work  for ;  somebody  that  wants  you  and 
that  can't  get  along  without  you." 

"  O  they  want  me,"  said  Matilda. 

"  Maybe ;  but  that  ain't  what  I  mean. 
'Tain't  dependin'  on  you  for  their  breakfast 
in  the  morning  and  their  tea  at  night,  and 
their  comfort  all  day.  You  have  folks  to  do 
that.  Now  I  wouldn't  give  much  for  life,  if 
I  couldn't  make  nice  light  biscuits  for  some 
body  and  see  that  their  coffee  was  right  and 
the  beefsteak  just  as  it  had  oughter  be,  and 
all  that.  I  used  to  have  some  one  to  do  it 
for,"  said  Miss  Redwood,  with  something  of 
pathetic  intonation  in  her  voice  ;  —  "  and 
now,"  she  added  cheerily,  "  it's  a  blessin'  to 
do  it  for  the  minister." 

"  I  should  think  it  was,"  said  Matilda. 

"  There  is  another  friend  one  may  always 


TRADING.  271 

work  for,"  —  said  the  voice  of  the  person 
they  were  speaking  of.  Both  his  hearers 
started.  The  door  of  the  dining-room  was  a 
little  ajar  and  he  had  quietly  pushed  it  open 
and  come  in.  "  Miss  Redwood,  how  about 
breakfast  ?  I  have  a  sudden  summons  to  go 
to  Suffield." 

"  Again  !  "  said  the  housekeeper.  "  Well, 
Mr.  Richmond  —  in  two  minutes.  La,  it's 
never  safe  to  speak  of  you ;  you're  sure  to 
know  it." 

"  I  didn't  hear  anything  very  bad,"  said 
the  minister  smiling. 

Norton  had  come  to  breakfast.  David 
made  his  appearance  looking  pale  and  heavy- 
eyed,  as  if  he  had  sat  up  half  the  night.  Mr. 
Richmond  looked  at  him  attentively  but 
made  no  remark  ;  only  to  both  the  boys  he 
was  exceedingly  kind  and  gracious  ;  engaging 
them  in  talk  that  could  not  fail  to  interest 
them  ;  so  that  it  was  a  gay  breakfast.  David 
was  not  gay,  indeed ;  that  was  rarely  a  char 
acteristic  of  his ;  but  he  was  gentle,  and  gen- 


272  TRADING. 

tlernanly,  and  very  attentive  to  his  host 
After  prayers  Mr.  Richmond  went  out  into 
the  hall  and  came  back  in  his  overcoat. 

"  My  boy,"  he  said,  laying  his  hand  affec 
tionately  on  David's  shoulder,  "  I  should  like 
to  sit  down  with  you  and  go  on  with  our 
reading ;  I  meant  to  give  the  first  of  the 
morning  to  it ;  but  I  have  a  call  of  duty  that 
takes  me  away.  I  shall  see  you  at  dinner  or 
this  evening ;  meanwhile,  this  is  your  home. 
Take  care  of  him,  Matilda." 

So  Mr.  Richmond  went  away.  Norton 
had  received,  and  refused,  a  similar  invita 
tion.  David  did  not  refuse  it. 

"  No,"  said  Norton,  "  I  must  be  nearer 
those  flower-beds.  Come  along,  Pink  ;  we'll 
go  and  make  our  calculations.  Davy,  you'll 
come  and  see  Briery  Bank  ?  It's  jolly,  this 
morning ;  and  this  afternoon  we'll  go  take  a 
drive." 

"  I  should  like  to  do  a  great  many  things," 
said  Matilda  ;  "  only  there'll  never  be  time  for 
them  all.  However,  we'll  go  first  and  see 
about  the  tulips  and  hyacinths." 


TRADING.  273 

David  went  with  them  so  far  and  looked 
at  the  place ;  but  after  that  he  disappeared 
Matilda  and  Norton  had  a  delightful  day, 
overseeing  the  garden  work  and  arranging 
for  more  garden  work  to  be  done  ;  then  lunch 
ing  together  at  the  hotel,  for  so  he  persuaded 
her,  and  going  on  with  their  operations  after 
wards.  At  tea  time  Matilda  went  back  to 
the  parsonage  alone ;  Norton  said  he  was 
tired  and  sleepy  and  did  not  want  to  hear 
reading,  but  he  would  come  to  breakfast  again. 

David  was  not  pale  but  flushed  now,  with 
excited  eyes.  All  Mr.  Richmond's  talk  and 
manner  at  table  were  kindly  and  soothing  as 
possible ;  and  Matilda  could  see  that  he  liked 
David  and  that  David  liked  him ;  but  the 
look  of  the  latter  puzzled  her.  It  came  from 
disturbance  so  much  deeper  than  her  little 
head  had  ever  known.  Immediately  after 
tea  the  study  lamp  was  lit  and  the  books 
were  opened. 

"  What  have  you  read  to-day,  Master  Bar 
tholomew  ?  "  Mr.  Richmond  asked. 
18 


274  TRADING. 

"  Just  those  two  chapters,"  said  the  boy. 

«Of  Luke?" 

«  Yes,  sir.  Mr.  Richmond,  those  people, 
Zechariah  and  Simeon  and  the  rest,  they 
were  Jews  ?  " 

«  Yes." 

«  And  they  kept  the  law  of  Moses  ?  " 

»<  Faithfully." 

«  And they  thought  that  Jesus  was  the 

Promised  One?" 

"They  did  not  think  —  they  knew,  by  the 
teaching  of  the  Spirit  of  God." 

«  But,"  said  David,  "  the  writer  of  this  did 
not  wish  to  discredit  the  law  of  Moses  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.  Let  us  go  on  with  our  his 
tory." 

The  reading  began  again  and  went  on 
steadily  for  some  hours.  As  before,  David 
wanted  to  verify  everything  by  references  to 
the  prophets.  His  voice  trembled  sometimes ; 
but  he  kept  as  close  to  business  as  possible. 
The  first  chapters  of  Matthew  excited  him 
very  much,  with  their  declarations  of  things 


TRADING.  275 

done  "  that  the  scriptures  might  be  fulfilled  ;" 
and  the  sermon  on  the  mount  seemed  to  stag 
ger  the  boy.  He  was  silent  a  while  when  it 
had  come  to  his  turn  to  read ;  and  at  last 
looking  up,  he  said, 

"  If  people  took  this  for  a  rule  of  life,  every 
thing  in  the  world  would  have  to  be  turned 
round  ?  " 

"  Precisely,"  said  Mr.  Richmond.  "  And 
so  the  word  says  — '  If  any  man  be  in  Christ, 
he  is  a  new  creature ;  old  things  are  passed 
away;  behold,  all  things  are  become  new.'  ' 

"  Do  you  think  anybody  really  lives  like 
this?" 

"  O  yes,"  said  Mr.  Richmond. 

"  I  never  saw  anybody  who  did,"  said  Da 
vid  ;  "  nor  anything  like  it ;  —  unless,"  he 
added  looking  up,  "it  is  Matilda  there." 

Matilda  started  and  flushed.  Mr.  Rich 
mond's  eyes  fell  on  her  with  a  very  moved 
pleasure  in  them.  Neither  spoke,  and  David 
went  on  with  the  reading.  He  was  greatly 
struck  again,  in  another  way,  with  the  quota- 


276  TRADING. 

tion  from  Isaiah  in  the  thirteenth  chapter,  and 
its  application  ;  indeed  with  the  whole  chap 
ter.  But  when  they  came  to  the  talk  with 
the  woman  of  Samaria,  David  stopped 
short. 

"  *  I  that  speak  unto  thee  am  he.'  Then 
he  said  himself  that  he  was  Messiah  ?  " 

"  To  this  woman,  to  his  twelve  disciples, 
and  to  two  or  three  more." 

«  Why  not  to  the  whole  people  ?  " 

"  Is  it  likely  they  would  have  believed 
him  ?  " 

David  pondered. 

"  They  asked  him  once  the  direct  question 
—  *  How  long  dost  thou  make  us  to  doubt  ? 
If  thou  be  Messiah,  tell  us  plainly.'  ' 

«  What  did  he  say  ?  " 

"  He  said,  *  I  told  you,  and  ye  believed  not; 
the  works  that  I  do  in  rny  Father's  name, 
they  bear  witness  of  me.'  ' 

"  Then  they  thought  perhaps  he  was  Mes 
siah." 

"  The  people  on  one  or  two  occasions  were 


TRADING.  277 

so  persuaded  of  it  that  they  wanted  to  take 
him  by  force  and  make  him  king." 

"  And  he  refused  ?  " 

"  He  refused.  You  know,  he  came  *  to 
give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many  ; '  not  to  en 
joy  worldly  honour." 

"  But  how  then  should  he  save  Israel  from 
all  their  enemies  ?  " 

"  Who  are  Israel's  enemies  ?  '  He  shall 
redeem  Israel  from  all  his  iniquities ;  '  and 
when  once  they  turn  to  the  Lord,  there  will 
be  no  other  enemies  that  can  work  them 
harm.  You  know  it  was  always  so." 

David  sighed  and  the  reading  went  on. 
But  again  he  started  at  the  fourth  chapter  of 
Luke  and  the  words  read  by  the  Lord  from 
Isaiah  and  his  appropriation  of  them.  David 
stopped. 

"  Here  it  is  again,"  he  said.  u  '  This  day  is 
this  scripture  fulfilled  — '  That  is  plain." 

"  Nothing  could  be  plainer.  But  they 
would  not  see  it." 

David  paused  still,  and  then  said  with  some 


278  TRADING. 

difficulty,  "  I  want  to  know  the  truth.  Be 
cause —  if  he  is  Messiah, —  he  is  my  King!" 
And  a  dark  gleam,  partly  of  pain,  partly  of 
incipient  loyalty,  crossed  his  face.  Mr.  Rich 
mond's  eyes  flashed. 

"  Come  on,"  he  said  ;  "  let  us  see  whether 
he  is  Messiah." 

The  parables  indicating  the  taking  away 
of  their  privileges  from  the  Jews  and  giving 
them  to  the  Gentiles,  were  hard  reading. 
David  stopped  to  understand  them,  and 
looked  very  black.  When  they  came  to  the 
discourses  of  Christ  with  the  Jews,  David's 
excitement  grew  very  great,  though  he  con 
trolled  himself.  And  just  there  came  a 
summons  to  Mr.  Richmond  which  it  was 
impossible  to  pass  by.  He  was  forced  to  go, 
and  left  the  two  younger  ones  at  the  table. 
For  a  few  minutes  they  were  silent ;  and 
then  David  rose  up,  pale  with  intense  feeling, 
and  took  his  book.  Matilda  looked  at  him 
inquiringly. 

"  I  must  find  it  out  by  myself,"  he  said ; 
and  walked  to  the  door. 


TRADING.  279 

"  David  !  "  cried  Matilda,  "  shall  I  call  you 
when  dinner  is  ready  ?  " 

"  No,  don't.  I  don't  want  dinner.  And  I 
can't  go  with  you  to  look  up  Norton.  Can 
you  do  without  me  ?  " 

Matilda  assured  him  of  that,  feeling  quite 
at  home  in  Shady  walk.  And  as  it  was  about 
eleven  o'clock,  she  thought  to  look  up  Norton 
would  be  the  best  thing  she  could  do. 

So  she  went  down  the  old  village  street, 
where  every  step  was  full  of  memories,  feeling 
very  glad  to  see  it  again.  She  would  have 
liked  to  stop  and  visit  several  people ;  but 
she  knew  Norton  would  be  impatient  for  her ; 
and  so  he  was.  He  was  overseeing  the  un 
covering  of  his  bulbs  to-day. 

"  Twelve  o'clock,  Pink  ;  twelve  o'clock ! 
and  this  is  the  first  I  have  seen  of  you  since 
breakfast.  What  have  you  been  doing  ?  " 

"  We've  been  busy,  Norton." 

«  Where's  Davy  ?  " 

"  At  the  parsonage.     He's  busy." 

"  Look   at   those  hyacinths,  —  up  already, 


280  TRADING. 

all  of  an  inch  above  ground.     It's  well  I  came 
to  see  after  them." 

"  What  makes  them  so  yellow,  Norton, 
instead  of  green  ?  " 

"  Why  because  they've  been  covered  up 
and  shaded  from  the  sun.  A  little  longer, 
and  they  would  have  been  spoiled." 

"  How  beautiful  it  would  be,  Norton,  if  we 
1    our  two    new  beds   planted!  all  full   of 
•s  and  hyacinths." 

Ah,  wouldn't  it!"  repeated  Norton. 
••  You  see,  we  were  a  bit  too  late  about  it 
last  fall ;  or,  I'll  tell  you !  it  was  that  sickness 
kept  us  away.  We'll  have  'em  next  year. 
What  have  you  and  David  been  doing  yon 
der  ?" 

"  Reading"  —  said  Matilda  doubtfully. 

"  Reading  what?" 

"  Mr.  Richmond  and  David  were  reading 
together." 

"  That's  jolly  !  "  said  Norton.  "  David  and 
the  parson  !  What's  come  over  ttarthol- 
oniew7  Where's  he  going  to  get  dinner  ?  " 


TRADING.  281 

"  He  didn't  come  with  me,  and  I  don't 
think  he  was  coming." 

"  Let  him  stay  and  read,  then,"  said  Nor 
ton.  "  If  he  can  afford  it,  we  can.  Pink, 
we'll  go  and  get  something  presently  —  as 
soon  as  I  see  all  this  mulching  off." 

They  managed  to  employ  themselves  all 
the  rest  of  the  day ;  dining  at  the  hotel,  over 
seeing  work  in  the  grounds  of  Briery  Bank, 
roaming  about  the  place  and  enjoying  its 
spring  sweetness ;  talking  over  what  they 
thought  ought  to  be  done ;  and  making  a 
very  nice  holiday  of  it  generally.  Towards 
evening  Norton  was  persuaded  to  return  with 
Matilda  to  the  parsonage ;  perhaps  urged  by 
a  little  curiosity  of  his  own.  David  had  not 
been  seen,  Miss  Redwood  reported. 

Neither  did  he  come  when  tea-time  came ; 
and  when  sought  in  his  room  it  was  discov 
ered  that  he  was  not  there.  Matilda  was 
very  much  exercised  on  this  subject;  but  Mr. 
Richmond  took  it  quietly.  Norton  declared 
it  was  just  like  David  Bartholomew. 


282  TRADING. 

"  I  don't  think  it  it,  Norton,"  said  Matilda; 
"  for  he  is  always  polite." 

"  Except  this  time,"  said  Norton. 

"  We'll  not  except  this  time,  if  you  please," 
said  Mr.  Richmond  pleasantly.  "  Things  are 
different  from  their  seeming,  oftentimes." 

It  was  Saturday  evening,  and  the  minister 
was  busy  in  his  study.  The  two  children 
kept  Miss  Redwood  company  in  the  dining 
room.  It  was  a  great  falling  off  from  last 
evening,  Matilda  thought;  nevertheless  she 
had  a  very  entertaining  talk  with  Miss  Red 
wood  about  people  and  things  in  Shadywalk  ; 
and  Norton  listened,  half  amused  and  half 
slrepy.  Mrs.  Candy  had  been  absent  from 
Shady  walk  near  all  winter;  in  New  York. 

"  In  New  York  !  "  exclaimed  Matilda. 
"  And  I  never  saw  her  or  Clarissa !  " 

"  She  didn't  come  to  see  you  then,"  said 
Miss  Redwood.  "  I  guess  she  was  skeered 
o'  something.  But  la !  New  York  must  be 
a  queer  place." 

"  Why  now  ?  "  Norton  asked. 


TRADING.  283 

"  Seems  as  if  folks  couldn't  be  runnin' 
round  in  it  all  winter  long  and  manage  to 
keep  out  o'  sight." 

"  That's  its  peculiarity,"  said  Norton. 

"I  s'pect  a  great  deal  could  happen  there, 
and  the  world  not  know,"  the  housekeeper 
went  on. 

"  Much  more  than  what  it  does  know," 
said  Norton. 

"  I  allays  think  sich  must  be  poor  kind  o' 
places.  Corners  that  the  world  can't  see  into 
ain't  healthy.  Now  I  like  a  place  like  Shady- 
walk,  that  you  know  all  through;  and  if 
there's  something  wrong,  why  it  has  a  chance 
to  get  mended.  There's  wrong  enough  here, 
no  doubt ;  but  most  of  it'll  bear  the  light  of 
day.  And  most  of  us  are  pretty  good  sort  o' 
folks." 

"  Now  that  Mrs.  Candy  is  out  of  town," 
Norton  remarked. 

Matilda  had  a  great  deal  to  hear  about 
Sunday  school  people,  and  her  friends  in 
Lilac  Lane.  For  Lilac  Lane  was  there  yet, 


284  TRADING. 

Miss  Redwood  observed.  Through  it  all, 
Matilda  watched  for  David's  coming  in.  But 
the  evening  ended  and  he  came  not. 

It  hurt  a  little  the  joy  of  her  Sunday  wak 
ing  up,  which  else  would  have  been  most 
joyous.  Norton  was  in  the  house  this  time ; 
he  had  consented  to  be  at  the  parsonage  for 
the  Sunday.  Monday  morning  they  were 
all  to  go  home  by  the  earliest  train.  So 
there  was  no  drawback  to  Matilda's  joy 
except  this  one.  It  was  delightful  to  hear 
the  old  bell  once  more  ;  delightful  to  see  the 
spring  light  streaming  between  the  pines  and 
lighting  the  ugly  old  church  tower  ;  pleasanter 
than  any  other  beautiful  one  to  Matilda's 
eyes.  With  all  the  coming  delights  of  the 
day  crowding  upon  her  mind,  she  rose  and 
dressed,  hoping  that  David  would  come  to 
breakfast. 

But  he  did  not. 

The  sweet  Sabbath  day  moved  on  slowly, 
with  its  services  in  the  old  church  and  its 
pleasant  talk  and  society  in  the  house  ;  the 


TRADING.  285 

Sunday  school  hours  ;  the  meeting  old  friends 
and  acquaintances  ;  but  dinner  and  Sunday 
school  were  over,  and  nothing  was  heard  of 
David  Bartholomew. 

"  What  has  become  of  him  ? "  said  Mr. 
Richmond,  as  he  and  Matilda  came  in  after 
Sunday  school. 

"  What  can  have  become  of  him,  Mr. 
Richmond  ?  "  said  Matilda. 

"  Nothing  very  bad,"  said  Mr.  Richmond, 
smiling  at  her  distressed  face.  "  Suppose 
we  go  and  look  him  up?  " 

"  Where  would  you  go,  Mr.  Richmond  ? 
he  has  not  been  here  since  yesterday  morn- 
ing." 

"  I  think  I  should  try  the  hotel." 

"  Do  you  think  he  is  there  !  —  Shall  we 
go?" 

«  I  think  we  will,"  said  Mr.  Richmond ; 
and  hand  in  hand  he  and  Matilda  went  down 
the  street,  to  the  corner.  Just  opposite,  a 
little  below,  was  the  Shadywalk  house  of 
public  entertainment. 


286  TRADING. 

Nobody  knew  David  Bartholomew  there 
by  name.  But  in  answer  to  Mr.  Richmond's 
enquiries  and  description  of  him,  the  bar 
keeper  stated  that  such  a  young  gentleman 
had  certainly  come  there  the  day  before  and 
was  in  Room  No.  45.  He  had  scarcely  been 
seen  since  he  entered  the  house,  the  man 
said  ;  had  refused  almost  everything  that  was 
offered  him;  but  anyhow,  he  was  there. 

Where  was  Room  No.  45  ?  A  man  was 
sent  to  direct  them  to  it;  and  Mr.  Richmond 
and  Matilda  went  up  the  stairs  and  along  a 
gallery.  No.  45  was  at  the  end  of  the  gal 
lery. 

"  I  will  wait  here  for  you,  Matilda,"  Mr. 
Richmond  said.  "  I  think  you  had  better  go 
alone  to  see  him  —  at  first." 


CHAPTER  XL 

IV  /I"  ATILDA  went  to  the  door  and  knocked. 
She  heard  nothing,  and  was  obliged 
to  knock  again.  Then  the  door  opened,  and 
David  stood  before  her.  What  to  say  to  him 
Matilda  had  not  just  determined,  and  while 
she  hesitated  he  stepped  back,  mutely  invit 
ing  her  to  enter.  Matilda  went  in  and  he 
closed  the  door.  She  was  afraid  to  speak 
when  she  saw  his  face,  it  was  so  pale  and 
disturbed.  But  he  prevented  her. 

"  I  have  found  it  out,  Matilda,"  he  said. 
"  It's  all  true." 

Matilda  started  and  looked  up  at  him  to 
see  what  he  meant. 

u  I  know  it  now,"  he  said.  "  He  is  the 
Messiah !  he  is  my  Messiah ;  he  is  my  King 
But  —  my  people,  my  people  !  —  " 


288  TRADING. 

Breaking  off  abruptly  with  this  cry,  David 
sat  down  at  a  little  table  where  he  had  been 
sitting,  —  for  his  Bible  was  open  upon  it, — 
and  put  his  head  down  in  his  hands  and  burst 
into  tears.  And  Matilda  had  never  seen 
anybody  weep  as  she  saw  him  then  ;  nor  in 
her  childishness  had  supposed  that  a  boy 
could  ;  the  little  deal  table  shook  under  the 
strength  of  his  sobs.  Matilda  was  bewildered 
and  half  frightened ;  she  stepped  back  into 
the  gallery,  meaning  to  summon  Mr.  Rich 
mond;  but  Mr.  Richmond  was  not  there; 
and  she  went  back  again,  and  stood,  much 
distressed,  waiting  until  this  paroxysm  of 
pain  should  have  passed  by.  It  lasted  some 
time.  Probably  David  had  not  shed  a  tear 
until  then,  and  speaking  to  her  had  broken 
down  the  barrier.  Matilda  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  At  last  she  put  her  hand  timidly 
among  the  thick  dark  curls  which  lay  lower 
than  she  had  ever  seen  them  before,  and 
spoke. 

"  Dear    David !    don't,  —  please    don't    do 


TRADING.  289 

He  heard  and  heeded  the  anxious  little 
voice,  for  the  sobs  lessened,  and  presently  he 
raised  himself  up  and  as  it  were  shook  them 
off.  But  Matilda  thought  he  looked  very  sad 
yet.  She  waited  silently. 

"  You  see,  Matilda,"  he  said, "  I  understand 
it  all  now.  And  they  don't !  " 

«  Who  don't,  David  ?  " 

"  My  people,"  he  said  sadly.  "  I  see  it  all 
now.  They  did  not  know  him  —  they  did 
not  know  him  !  And  so  they  lost  him.  You 
know  what  he  said,  —  the  kingdom  is  '  taken 
from  them,  and  given  to  another  nation, 
bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof.'  So  they 
are  scattered  abroad  on  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth.  And  still  they  don't  know  him!  " 

"  But  you  do,  David  ?  "  said  Matilda  ear 
nestly. 

"  Tilly,  I  wish  my  life  was  longer,  to  use 
it  for  him.  I  wish  my  hands  were  stronger, 
to  do  his  service  !  But  all  I  am  is  his,  every 
bit  of  it,  and  all  I  have  ;  from  this  day  for 


ever." 


290  TRADING. 

The  boy  stood,  with  a  kind  of  sad  joyful- 
ness,  very  quiet,  with  folded  hands,  speaking 
hardly  as  it  seemed  to  Matilda,  but  perhaps 
to  angels  and  the  Lord  himself. 

"  Won't  you  come  and  tell  Mr.  Rich 
mond  ?  " 

"  Certainly ! "  he  said,  starting  from  his 
attitude. 

"  When  we  heard  nothing  of  you  for  ever 
so  long,  I  grew  troubled;  I  didn't  know  what 
had  become  of  you ;  and  then  Mr.  Richmond 
proposed  that  we  should  come  here  and  look 
after  you.  You'll  come  to  the  parsonage  to 
night,  David  ?  you  know  we  are  all  going 
away  to-morrow  morning." 

"  I'll  be  ready  in  two  minutes." 

Matilda  waited  while  he  washed  his  face 
and  brushed  his  hair ;  then  they  went  down 
stairs  and  found  Mr.  Richmond.  He  stretched 
out  his  hand  to  David,  which  the  boy  took 
with  a  flitting  change  of  colour  that  told  of 
some  difficulty  of  self-command.  However 
in  a  moment  his  words  were  firm. 


TRADING.  291 

"  I  have  found  my  Messiah,  sir,  where  you 
bade  me  look  for  him.  He  is  my  Messiah, 
and  my  King,  and  I  am  his  servant.  I  wish 
I  could  be  his  servant  twenty  times  over ! '' 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  One  life  is  too  little  to  give." 

"  You  may  serve  him  to  the  ages  of  the 
ages.  Service  shall  not  end  with  this  life, 
do  you  think  so  ?  " 

Then  David  lifted  up  his  dark  eyes  and 
smiled.  Matilda  had  always  known  him  a 
very  grave  boy  ;  perhaps  partly  for  that  rea 
son  this  smile  seemed  to  her  like  a  rift  of 
light  between  clouds,  so  sweet  and  bright. 
It  filled  Matilda  with  so  much  awe  that  she 
did  not  open  her  lips  all  the  way  to  the 
parsonage.  Nor  did  Mr.  Richmond  say 
much. 

They  were  in  danger  of  being  .a  silent 
party  at  tea,  too  ;  only  I  think  the  minister 
exerted  himself  to  prevent  it.  Matilda  had 
no  words  for  anything,  and  indeed  could 
hardly  eat  her  supper ;  as  often  as  she  dared, 


292  TRADING. 

she  stole  a  look  at  David.  For  he  did  not 
look  at  all  like  himself.  He  was  grave;  to 
be  sure  that  was  like  him  ;  only  now  it  was 
a  new  sort  of  high,  sweet  gravity,  even  gentle 
and  humble  in  its  seeming ;  and  if  he  was 
silent,  it  was  not  that  he  was  not  ready  and 
willing  to  speak  when  there  was  occasion. 
But  Matilda  guessed  he  had  too  much  to 
think  of  to  want  to  talk  much.  Norton  was 
perhaps  a  little  curious  as  to  what  there  was 
between  his  three  companions;  and  Miss 
Redwood  was  seldom  free  with  her  tongue 
in  the  minister's  presence.  Mr.  Richmond, 
as  I  said,  had  to  exert  himself,  or  the  silence 
of  the  tea-table  would  have  been  too  marked. 
They  all  went  to  church  together.  Matil 
da  caught  a  look  of  extreme  surprise  on  Nor 
ton's  face  when  he  saw  that  David  was  one 
of  the  party  ;  but  there  was  no  time  for  expla 
nations  then.  Little  Matilda  thought  she 
had  hardly  ever  been  so  happy  in  her  life. 
In  the  old  place,  Mr.  Richmond  preaching, 
and  David  and  Norton  beside  her,  one  of 


TRADING.  293 

them  there  in  heart  as  well  as  in  person. 
The  singing  was  sweet,  and  the  prayers  were 
happy. 

Coming  back  from  church,  Matilda  and 
Norton  fell  a  little  behind  the  others. 

"  What's  come  over  David  Bartholomew?" 
Norton  whispered.  "  Politeness  ?  " 

"  O  no,  Norton ;  not  politeness.  He  will 
tell  you  himself." 

"  Davy's  strong  on  politeness,"  said  Nor 
ton.  "  I  didn't  know  but  it  was  that.  Po 
liteness  took  me  ;  but  of  course,  to  take  Davy, 
it  would  have  to  be  a  most  extraordinary 
and  uncommon  sort  of  politeness.  I  can 
hardly  believe  my  eyes  yet." 

"  You  always  said  Mr.  Richmond  was  a 
brick,  Norton,"  said  Matilda. 

"  Yes,  but  you  never  heard  me  say  David 
Bartholomew  was  another,  did  you  ?  " 

"  Well,  but  he  is,  Norton." 

"  He  is  !     Phew!     that's  news." 

They  came  to  the  parsonage  door  and 
Matilda  could  not  reply.  Going  in,  Mr.  Rich- 


294  TRADING. 

mond  said  to  them  that  he  had  something  to 
talk  with  David  about,  and  that  they  must 
not  sit  up  if  they  were  tired.  So  he  and  Da 
vid  turned  into  the  study,  and  Norton  and 
Matilda  went  on  into  the  dining-room,  where 
Miss  Redwood  was  sitting  with  her  Bible. 
Then  David's  head  was  put  into  the  room 
after  them.  u  Tell  Norton  for  me,  please, 
Matilda,"  he  said;  and  went  back. 

"  Tell  me  what  ?  "  said  Norton. 

Matilda  did  not  know  how  to  begin. 

"  Well,  you've  got  home,"  remarked  the 
housekeeper  closing  her  book.  "  Was  there 
many  out?  " 

"  Would  have  been  more  if  you  hadn't 
staid  at  home,  Miss  Redwood,"  Norton  re 
plied. 

"  When  you're  as  old  as  I  am,  my  young 
gentleman,  you'll  know  that  folks  don't  do 
things  without  reasons." 

"  Ah ! "  said  Norton.  "  But  are  they  always 
good  reasons  ?  " 

"  That's    their    own   look   out,"    said   the 


TRADING.  295 

housekeeper.     "  What  did  you  go  to  church 
for  this  evening,  for  instance  ?  " 

"  I've  just  been  telling  my  sister,"  said 
Norton.  "  But  what,  in  the  name  of  Rabbi 
Solomon,  and  all  the  Rabbis,  ever  took  David 
Bartholomew  there  ?  " 

"  Ain't  he  a  Jew  ?  "  said  the  housekeeper. 

"  Of  course  he  is.  And  he  don't  love 
Christians,  I  can  tell  you,  except  one  here 
and  there." 

"  He  does  now,"  said  Matilda  in  a  low 
voice. 

«  What  ?  "  said  Norton. 

"  He  loves  Christians  now,  Norton.  And 
he  loves  Jesus.  He  is  a  Christian  him 
self." 

"  David  Bartholomew  a  Christian !  "  ex 
claimed  Norton. 

„    Matilda  nodded.     Her  eyes  were  full  and 
her  lips  were  trembling. 

"  I  thought  there  was  something  to  pay," 
said  the  good  housekeeper,  whose  eyes  wa 
tered  for  company.  But  Norton  was  trans 
fixed  with  astonishment. 


2p6  TRADING. 

"  Pink,  what  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  It's  true,  Norton,"  said  Matilda  nodding 
again. 

"What's  made  him?" 

"  He  has  been  studying  the  Bible  and  the 
New  Testament  this  long  while.  Now,  he 
says,  he  knows." 

"  And  he  means  it !  "  said  the  housekeeper. 
"  I  can  tell  by  the  look  of  him." 

"Means  what?" 

"  He  means  what  he  says  —  whatever  that 
is." 

"  But  you  said,  you  were  thinking,  some 
thing  in  particular,  Miss  Redwood." 

"Yes;  just  what  he  was  thinking,"  said 
the  housekeeper.  "  He'll  never  be  one  o' 
those  Christians  that  stand  on  one  leg  at  a 
time  ;  that's  what  I  mean.  Whoever  wants 
to  walk  alongside  of  him,  '11  have  to  step  up 
to  the  mark." 

Norton  looked  at  her,  in  somewhat  dis 
dainful  want  of  comprehension,  and  then 
turned  to  Matilda  again. 


TRADING.  297 

"  Pink,  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  it!  " 

u  Why,  Norton,  I  heard  him  myself,  all  that 
he  said." 

"  Mind,  he  may  have  found  out  that  his 
famous  old  uncles  of  rabbis  don't  know  any 
thing  ;  that's  very  likely  ;  but  I  don't  believe 
David  Bartholomew  has  given  up  being  a 
Jew." 

"  Why  he  can't  do  that,  Norton ;  he's  born 
so ;  but  he  is  a  Christian  too." 

"A  man  can't  be  a  Christian  and  a  Jew 
too,"  said  Norton. 

"  Miss  Redwood,  can't  he  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  it's  difficult,"  said  the  good 
housekeeper ;  "  and  you  may  depend  he's 
found  that  out;  but  he's  found  it's  possible 
too.  Why  what  'ud  become  of  all  the  Jew 
ish  nation  if  it  warn't  possible  ?  " 

"  What  should  become  of  them  ?  "  Norton 
asked  scornfully. 

"  Well,  there's  wonderful  things  about  the 
Jews  in  the  Bible,"  said  the  housekeeper 
rising ;  "  if  the  minister  was  here  he'd  tell 


TRADING. 


you.  And  there  was  an  old  promise  to 
Abraham,  that  if  I  was  you  I  wouldn't  run 
against." 

"  Run  against  a  promise  to  Abraham  !  " 
said  Norton. 

"  Well,  yes,"  said  the  housekeeper,  setting 
her  chair  back  at  the  wall  in  its  place.  "  I 
wouldn't  like  to  run  against  none  o'  the 
Lord's  words,  and  this  is  one  of  'em.  4  1  will 
bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that 
curseth  thee.'  ' 

The  housekeeper  went  off  and  left  Matilda 
and  Norton  looking  at  each  other.  Norton 
wore  a  vexed  face. 

"  This  is  all  trumpery,"  he  said.  "  It  will 
blow  away  like  smoke." 

"  No  it  won't,  Norton,"  said  Matilda.  "  I 
hope  not." 

"  And  how  long  have  you  and  David  been 
holding  secret  meetings  together  to  talk  about 
this?" 

"  I  don't  know,  Norton.  But  we  had 
better  go  to  bed,  I  suppose;  for  Miss  Red- 


TRADING.  299 

wood  will  call  us  very  early  to  have  breakfast 
before  the  omnibus  comes  for  us." 

"  Nonsense  to  have  breakfast !  "  said  Nor 
ton.  "  We  shall  be  home  time  enough." 

"  But  then  you  and  Davy  will  have  to 
rush  right  off  to  school.  Good  night." 

"  Good  night  "  —  said  Norton,  in  an  un 
comfortable  tone.  And  they  went  up  to  their 
rooms,  leaving  David  and  Mr.  Richmond  still 
shut  up  in  the  study. 

It  was  early,  dawn  just  breaking,  when  the 
summons  came  for  them  to  get  up  ;  the  dawn 
of  a  fair  spring  morning.  What  a  visit  it  had 
been !  Matilda  thought  to  herself,  as  she 
dressed  and  put  up  her  things  in  her  little 
hand  bag.  And  as  the  first  sunbeams  were 
glinting  on  the  top  of  the  old  tower,  she  ran 
down  to  breakfast.  Mr.  Richmond  gave  her 
a  very  warm  greeting,  in  his  quiet  way.  So 
did  David.  He  looked  bright  and  well,  Ma 
tilda  saw  at  a  glance.  Norton  had  not  by 
any  means  got  over  his  discomfiture.  He 
seemed  embarrassed  as  well  as  uneasy; 


300  TRADING. 

watched  David  with  furtive  glances,  and  eat 
his  breakfast  in  silence.  Mr.  Richmond  and 
Matilda  were  the  talkers. 

"  Have  you  had  any  more  difficulties  about 
boots  ?  "  he  asked  in  the  course  of  the  con 
versation.  Matilda  looked  at  him  in  bewil 
derment. 

"  You  wrote  me  some  time  ago,  on  the 
subject  of  a  deep  question  that  had  to  do 
with  boots." 

Matilda  coloured  and  laughed,  while  Nor 
ton  remarked  that  boots  were  a  queer  subject 
for  deep  questions  to  have  to  do  with. 

"  Deep  questions  can  spring  out  of  any 
thing —  out  of  your  bread  and  butter,"  said 
Mr.  Richmond.  "  How  is  it,  Tilly,  about  the 
matter  of  boots  ?  " 

"  I  have  hardly  thought  about  it,  Mr.  Rich 
mond,  this  long  while." 

"  How  is  that  ?  " 

"  I  have  had  so  much  else  to  think  of,  I 
believe." 

"  Studies  ?  " 


TRADING.  301 

"  No,  sir ;  my  studies  have  been  a  good 
deal  broken  off  by  my  being  sick." 

"  What  then  ?     Can  you  tell  me  ?  " 

Matilda  gave  briefly  the  history  of  her  con 
nexion  with  Sarah  Staples.  She  meant  to 
give  it  briefly ;  but  the  story  was  too  sweet 
in  the  telling ;  it  rather  grew  long.  Yet  she 
did  by  no  means  put  herself  or  her  own  do 
ings  in  the  foreground  ;  that  place  was  given 
as  much  as  possible  to  Mr.  Wharncliffe  and 
David  and  the  poor  family  themselves.  The 
minister  and  the  housekeeper  were  both  very 
much  interested. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  former,  in  conclusion,  "  I 
understand,  and  am  satisfied.  I  see  that  now 
boots  are  boots;  and  nothing  more." 

Matilda  laughed,  for  the  boys  looked  mys 
tified. 

"  Will  you  tell  me,  sir,"  inquired  Norton, 
"  how  deep  questions  could  spring  out  of  my 
bread  and  butter  ?  " 

The  minister  could  have  smiled  at  the  boy's 
air,  which  had  much  the  effect  of  seeming  to 


302  TRADING. 

put  a  "  poser "  to  him  ;  but  he  controlled 
himself  and  answered  quite  gravely. 

"  Shall  we  consider  them  together  ?  or 
apart  ?  " 

"  Apart,  if  you  please." 

«  \Vell Bread,  you  know,  daily  bread, 

stands  for  the  matters  which  support  life,  in 
all  variety.  This  question  arises. —  Who 
gives  this  daily  bread  to  you,  and  gives  you 
power  to  eat  it?  And  what  use  does  He 
wish  to  make  of  you,  that  he  should  give 
you  both  ?  " 

Norton  was  silent. 

"  You  are  not  prepared  with  an  answer  ?  " 
said  the  minister. 

"  I  never  thought  of  the  questions  before, 
sir.  The  second  one  sounds  to  me  very 

strange." 

"  Does  it  ?  Do  you  think  the  Lord  had  no 
purpose  to  serve,  in  putting  you  here  and 
nourishing  you  up  to  strength  and  power?  " 

«  That's  for  the  bread,"  said  Norton  after  a 
pause,  but  not  rudely  ;  lifting  his  eyes  to  the 


TRADING.  303 

minister  as  he  spoke.  "  You  were  going  to 
consider  the  bread  and  butter" 

"  I  think  you  do  not  seem  disposed  to 
*  consider '  anything,"  said  Mr.  Richmond 
smiling;  "but,  however,  I  will  hope  the  time 
of  consideration  may  come.  Now  for  deep 
question  Number  three,  or  Number  four,  — 
You  have  butter  to  your  bread,  and  plenty 
of  it ;  what  is  your  duty  towards  others  who 
have  no  butter,  and  others  still  who  have  no 
bread  ?  " 

"  There's  the  omnibus,  Mr.  Richmond," 
said  the  housekeeper.  And  there  was  no 
more  talk.  Only  a  hurried  putting  on  of  hats 
and  seizing  of  hand  bags  ;  eager,  warm, 
hearty  grasping  of  hands  in  good  bye  ;  and 
then  the  three  travellers  were  in  the  omnibus 
and  rolling  along  the  parsonage  lane  and  out 
at  the  gate. 

What  a  visit  it  had  been  !  Matilda  was 
so  full  of  content  that  she  was  still.  Not  a 
very  noisy  child  at  any  time,  she  was  now 
as  quiet  as  a  mouse,  just  with  content.  Three 


304  TRADING. 

days  of  sweet  pleasure,  three  days  of  country 
skies  and  greening  grass  and  free  sunshine  ; 
three  nights  and  mornings  of  parsonage  de 
lights.  And  more  than  that ;  more  than  all 
she  had  hoped  for;  David  going  home  with 
his  deep  questions  solved  and  his  calls  of 
duty  and  privilege  met.  What  would  they 
think  at  home?  and  how  would  they  find 
out  about  it  ?  "  He  was  one  of  those  lost 
pieces  of  silver,"  thought  Matilda,  smiling  to 
herself;  "  and  Jesus  has  found  him  !  " 

"  What's  so  amusing  ?  "  inquired  Norton. 
He  was  rather  in  a  disordered  state  of  mind, 
and  certainly  seemed  to  see  nothing  amusing 
himself. 

Matilda  looked  up,  still  smiling,  though 
her  eyes  were  dewy,  and  from  him  glanced 
at  David.  Their  eyes  met.  His  srnile  an 
swered  hers,  quite  recognizing  its  meaning. 
Norton  whistled.  There  was  no  other  pas 
senger  in  the  omnibus  ;  and  he  whistled  half 
way  to  the  station. 

In    the  cars  the   same   content   possessed 


TRADING.  305 

Matilda.  It  was  still  early  morning ;  she 
thought  the  river  had  never  looked  so  pretty 
as  in  the  crisp  light  of  that  hour  ;  nor  the 
opposite  hills  so  lovely  as  under  those 
wreaths  of  bright  vapour  which  lay  along  the 
hillsides  ;  nor  ever  was  there  a  blue  sky  more 
smiling.  She  glanced  at  her  two  compan 
ions.  Norton  was  not  smiling  by  any  means ; 
his  discomposure  had  not  gone  off,  whatever 
it  might  mean  ;  and  he  eyed  David  now  and 
then  with  a  jealous,  doubtful  expression. 
David  was  grave  enough,  but  not  as  usual. 
Matilda  looked  again  and  again,  to  see  how 
different  the  thoughtful  bright  calm  of  his 
face  was  from  the  old  dark  gloom  that  used 
to  be  there  ;  and  then  her  eyes  turned  to  the 
sunny  river  and  sky  and  hills,  with  a  glad 
feeling  of  the  harmony  between  things  out 
ward  and  inward.  Before  long,  David  had 
taken  out  a  little  book  and  was  deep  in  the 
study  of  it ;  which  he  never  interrupted  till 
they  reached  Poughkeepsie.  There  Norton 
rushed  out,  to  get  something  to  eat,  he  said ; 
20 


306  TRADING. 

though  Matilda  guessed  it  was  rather  to  get 
rid  of  himself  for  a  minute.  Many  other 
people  left  the  car  on  the  same  errand  ;  and 
David  looked  up  from  his  book  and  came 
over  to  Matilda. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  how  are  you  getting 
along  ?  " 

"  Nicely.     I  am  so  happy,  David  !  " 

"  So  am  I,"  said  he  gravely.  "  All  the 
world  is  new,  and  it  seems  to  me  I  see  the 
sun  shine  for  the  first  time." 

"  See  the  sun  shine  ?  "  repeated  Matilda 
doubtfully. 

"  Yes,"  said  he  smiling. 

"  But  you  don't  look  at  it,  David.  You  are 
reading  all  the  while." 

"  I  see  it,  though.  Now  I  know  what  the 
prophet  Malachi  meant  by  the  sun  of  right 
eousness.  Do  you  remember,  Matilda  ?  I 
guess  you  don't ;  but  I  know  the  words. 

*  And  risen  to  you,  ye  who  fear  my  name, 
Hath  the  sun   of  righteousness  —  and  healing  in  it* 
wings.' 


TRADING.  307 

I  feel  that  now.  I  never  could  understand 
it  before." 

"  There  are  a  great  many  things  that  we 
cannot  understand  till  we  feel  them,  —  are 
there  not,  David  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  so,"  he  said  thoughtfully. 

Their  talk  stopped  there ;  and  presently  the 
people  who  had  gone  out  came  pouring  back. 
Norton  brought  a  great  piece  of  sponge-cake 
to  Matilda. 

"  Thank  you,  Norton,  but  I'm  not  hungry, 
I've  just  had  breakfast  a  few  minutes  ago." 

"  You  hadn't  time  to  eat." 

"  Yes,  I  had.  You  spent  your  time  talk 
ing,  I  suppose ;  you  and  Mr.  Richmond ; 
that's  the  reason  you  are  hungry." 

Norton  sat  down  and  eat  his  sponge-cake  ; 
and  spoke  no  more  till  the  train  got  in.  The 
carriage  was  in  waiting ;  took  the  two  boys 
immediately  to  school,  and  carried  Matilda 
and  the  bags  home. 

She  wondered  all  day  how  and  when  Da 
vid's  disclosure  would  be  made,  and  how  it 


308  TRADING. 

would  be  taken  at  home.  She  had  a  good 
many  questions  to  answer  herself,  even  Judy 
seeming  curious  to  know  what  they  had  been 
doing  and  how  they  had  spent  the  time,  and 
why  they  had  not  come  home  Saturday ; 
especially  what  David  had  done  with  himself 
and  why  he  had  taken  it  into  his  head  to  go 
at  all.  Matilda  declined  to  enter  into  any 
discussion  of  David's  affairs,  and  left  him  to 
speak  for  himself.  But  much  she  wondered 
ho\v  he  would,  and  whether  he  would,  and 
when  he  would. 

It  happened  that  evening  that  there  was 
no  company,  and  the  family  were  all  gathered 
together  in  the  little  reception  room;  talking 
over  the  children's  reports  and  discussing 
plans  for  the  coming  summer.  Matilda's 
heart  began  to  beat ;  for  she  saw  that  David 
was  thoughtfully  still,  and  that  Norton,  in  a 
corner,  only  talked  by  jerks,  as  it  were,  and 
sat  turning  over  and  over  one  of  his  school- 
books,  with  an  odd  air  of  expectancy.  Yes, 
certainly  he  knew  that  David  was  going  to 


TRADING.  309 

speak,  and  was  waiting  for  it.  Matilda  could 
think  of  nothing  else;  her  talk  all  came  to  an 
end. 

"  Norton  hasn't  much  to  say  to-night," 
Mrs.  Bartholomew  remarked.  "  No  more  than 
if  he  were  my  boy." 

"  I  haven't  anything  to  talk  about,"  said 
Norton,  looking  at  nothing  but  his  book. 

"  Matilda  has  lost  her  tongue  too,"  said 
Judy. 

"  She  never  had  such  a  one  as  yours,"  re 
plied  her  grandmother  ;  "  you  must  remember 
that.  It  isn't  such  a  loss  in  the  house." 

Judy  seemed  inclined  to  pout  at  this;  but 
then  her  attention  was  turned  to  her  brother, 
who  began  rather  suddenly. 

"May  I  speak,  grandmamma?" 

"  I  shall  be  very  happy  to  hear,"  said  Mrs. 
Lloyd  smiling. 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  of  that,"  said  David ; 
"  at  least,  not  of  you  all ;  though  I  really  have 
something  to  say." 

All  eyes  turned  to  David.     Norton  looked 


3*0  TRADING. 

up  at  him  from  under  h*ls  brows,  with  a 
strange  expression  of  curiosity  and  displeas 
ure.  Matilda  only  looked  away.  David 
hesitated,  then  went  on  very  calmly  and 
gently. 

"  You  know,  mother  and  grandmother,  that 
I  have  been  very  strong  in  my  love  for  my 
own  people,  and  very  strong  in  my  sympa 
thies  with  them." 

"Is  it  in  the  past  tense?"  asked  Mrs. 
Lloyd. 

"And  very  fixed  in  my  prejudices  against 
what  was  not  Jewish ;  against  what  in  your 
beliefs  was  contrary  to  mine." 

"  We  all  know  that,"  said  his  mother  a 
little  bitterly. 

"  Is  that  in  the  past  tense  ? "  demanded 
Judy. 

"  I  joined  with  my  people  in  expecting  the 
Messiah  and  hoping  for  him." 

"Did  you?"  said  his  mother. 

"I  have  changed,"  said  David  slowlv.  "  I 
have  been  studying  these  things  for  some 


TRADING.  311 

time  past;  I  have  studied  and  studied;  and 
uow  I  know.  Our  Messiah  has  come  ;  our 
people  did  not  know  him,  and — they  lost 
him.  I  know  now  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is 
the  Messiah." 

A  scream  of  startled  rage  from  Judy  broke 
in  upon  the  closing  utterances  of  this  speech. 
She  prevented  everybody  else. 

"  You  do  not  mean  to  say  that,  David  Bar 
tholomew!"  she  exclaimed,  jumping  out  of 
her  chair  and  standing  before  him.  "  You 
don't  mean  it." 

"  Do  I  ever  say  what  I  do  not  mean,  Judy  ?  " 
he  answered  gravely. 

"  Say  it  again.  Say  you  have  left  us  and 
gone  over  to  the  Christians." 

"  Judy  !  are  you  not  ashamed!  "  cried  Mrs. 
Bartholomew.  "  What  do  you  think  of  your 
mother  ?  " 

"  Nothing,"  said  Judy.  "  I'm  not  talking 
of  you,  mamma.  You  are  neither  one  thing 
nor  the  other.  You  are  nothing.  Have  you 
gone  over,  David  ?  " 


312  TRADING. 

"  You  know  what  I  said,"  her  brother  an 
swered.  "  I  believe  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is 
the  .Messiah." 

"The  Christians' Messiah,"  said  Judy  scorn 
fully. 

"  Theirs  and  ours,"  said  David  sorrowfully. 
"  Messiah  ben  David,  the  King  of  Israel." 

"Take  that!"  said  Judy,  administering  a 
slap  on  the  cheek  which  was  heartily  deliv 
ered.  "  You  are  a  mean  good-for-nothing, 
David  Bartholomew!  and  I  wish  your  name 
was  something  else/' 

All  the  voices  in  the  room  cried  out  upon 
Judy  except  her  brother's.  His  colour  changed, 
back  and  forth,  but  he  was  silent  She  stood 
in  the  centre  of  the  room  like  a  little  fury. 

"  Judy,  Judy  !  Sit  down  I  "  said  Mrs.  Bar 
tholomew.  But  it  was  doubtful  if  Judy 
heard. 

"  What  do  you  think  your  uncle  Solomon 
and  Rabbi  Nathan  will  say  to  you,  you  mean 
boy ! "  she  cried.  "  1  am  going  straight  to 
tell  them." 


TRADING.  313 

"  I  will  tell  them  myself,  Judy,"  said  Da 
vid. 

"  And  what  do  you  think  they  will  say  to 
you,  hey  ?  You  deserve  all  you'll  get. 
Ugh !  What  is  a  Jew  who  isn't  a  Jew  any 
longer?" 

"  I  was  going  to  tell  you  what  I  am,"  said 
David.  "  Grandmamma,  1  had  not  finished 
what  I  had  to  say  to  you." 

"  Let  him  speak,  Judy,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd. 

"  If  the  rest  is  like  the  beginning,  I  don't 
want  to  hear  it,"  said  Judy. 

"  You  need  not  hear  it,"  said  her  mother. 
"  Leave  the  room,  then." 

"  I  won't!"  said  Judy.  "  There  is  nobody 
here  but  me  to  make  him  ashamed." 

"  I  wish  something  would  make  you 
ashamed,"  said  her  mother.  "Judy  Bar 
tholomew,  hold  your  tongue.  Go  on,  Da 
vid." 

"  Mamma,  you  don't  like  all  this  stuff  any 
better  than  I  do." 

"  I  choose   to    hear   it  out,  though,"    said 


314  TRADING. 

Mrs.  Bartholomew.  "  Sit  down  and  be 
silent." 

"  I  will  —  till  I  get  something  else  to  talk 
about,"  said  Judy,  sitting  down  as  requested. 
And  all  eyes  turned  once  more  upon  David. 
He  was  very  quiet,  outwardly:  he  had  been 
quietly  waiting. 

"  Grandmamma,"  he  said  with  a  slight 
smile,  "  I  am  as  good  a  Jew  as  ever  I  was 
—("It's  a  lie,"  put  in  Judy ;— "  unless  the 
rest  was!'')  —  "I  am  as  good  a  Jew  as  ever  I 
was,  and  letter.  I  had  studied  about  the 
Messiah,  and  knew  about  him,  and  knew  that 
he  was  promised  —  the  hope  of  Israel,  and 
the  King  of  Israel.  Now  I  know  that  he  has 
come,  and  I  know  him;  and  he  isn't  the 
Messiah  that  I  am  hoping  for,  but "  —  he 
hesitated  and  smiled  again,  —  "  the  Christ  I 
am  glad  for ;  the  Hope  of  Israel  and  the 
King,  and  so  my  King  and  my  Hope.  I  have 
given  myself  to  him  to  be  his  servant.  1 
believe  in  him  —  I  love  him  —  and  all  that 
I  am  is  his." 


TRADING.  315 

Possibly  Judy  was  bewildered  by  this 
speech  ;  perhaps  she  was  astonished  into  si 
lence  ;  at  any  rate  she  sat  still  and  was  quiet. 
Norton  tossed  his  book  over  and  over.  Ma 
tilda  was  in  such  a  tumult  of  delight  that  she 
could  hardly  contain  herself,  but  she  made  a 
great  effort  and  kept  it  from  observation.  The 
ladies  seemed  somewhat  in  Judy's  condition. 
At  last  Mrs.  Bartholomew  spoke. 

"  By  your  last  words,  what  do  you  mean, 
David  ?  » 

"  Mamma,"  he  said,  "  I  meant  to  make 
them  quite  plain.  I  thought  it  was  right  to 
tell  you  all.  I  am  the  servant  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

"  Well,  so  are  we  all,"  said  his  mother. 
"  What  do  you  mean  to  do,  that  you  pro 
claim  it  so  publicly  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  mamma  ;  only  to  follow  my  Mas 
ter." 

«  Follow  him  how  ?  " 

"  In  his  own  way  —  obeying  his  words." 

"  But  people  that  talk  in  that  way  often  go 


316  TRADING. 

into  extremes,  and  do  ridiculous  things  —  un 
like  all  the  world.  I  hope  that  is  not  what 
you  mean,  David  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  mamma,"  said  the  boy 
gravely.  "  I  will  do  ridiculous  things  if  He 
command  me"  —  and  again  a  flicker  of  a 
smile  that  came  like  a  flicker  of  light  passed 
over  his  face.  "  The  first  thing  I  thought  I 
had  to  do  was  to  tell  you  all;  he  says  his 
servants  must  confess  him ;  and  to-morrow  I 
will  go  to  my  uncles."  The  smile  had  faded 
and  he  was  very  grave  then. 

"  And  do  you  know  what  they  will  say  to 
you  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  I  know,"  he  answered  slowly. 

"  Is  this  a  very  new  thing,  David  Bartholo 
mew?" 

"  No,  mamma.  The  finishing  of  it  is  new ; 
it  has  been  growing  and  preparing  for  a  long 
while." 

"Like  you!"  said  his  mother  discontent 
edly.  "  Think  and  think  and  say  nothing, — 
and  then  come  out  with  your  mind,  when 
nobody  can  change  it!  " 


TRADING.  317 

"And  it's  all  because  of  her!"  Judy  ex 
claimed,  starting  from  her  silence  and  her  seat 
together,  and  pointing  to  Matilda.  "  She  has 
made  the  mischief.  David  would  never  have 
thought  of  these  low  ways,  if  there  had  not 
been  somebody  to  put  it  into  his  head.  That's 
what  you  get,  aunt  Zara,  by  your  works." 

"  Hush  !  "  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew  sharply. 
"  Matilda  has  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

"  Hasn't  she  though  ? "  Judy  retorted. 
u  Just  ask  her.  Or  ask  this  boy.  Mean 
little  spy  !  coming  into  such  a  house  as  this 
to  upset  it !  " 

"  Hold  on,  Judy,"  cried  Norton ;  "  you  are 
going  too  fast." 

"  Keep  yourself  out  of  the  mess!  "  retorted 
Judy  with  great  sharpness  ;  "  there's  enough 
without  you.  I  say,  she  is  at  the  bottom  of 
it  all ;  and  I  wish  it  was  the  bottom  of  the 
Red  Sea  with  Pharaoh's  chariots!" 

"  Judy,  Judy ! "  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew, 
angry  and  half  laughing  —  "  hold  your  tongue 
and  don't  be  a  fool." 


318  TRADING. 

"  You've  only  one  of  that  name  among 
your  children,  mamma,"  said  the  young  lady. 
«  Half  s  enough." 

"What  has  Matilda  done?"  Mrs.  Laval 
asked  calmly. 

"  She  has  been  doing  ever  since  she  came 
here,"  Judy  answered. 

"  What/ras  bewitched  you, David,  though  ?  " 
his  mother  inquired.  "  There  was  nothing  of 
all  this  when  you  went  to  the  catechiz- 
ing?" 

"  No,  mamma.  But  the  study  about  that 
time  put  me  on  thinking  and  asking  ques 
tions  ;  nobody  could  answer  my  questions; 
not  even  our  wise  men  ;  until  at  last  I  began 
to  ask  —  where  I  found  the  answer." 

"Matilda?"  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew. 

"  Matilda  helped  me  a  great  deal." 

"  Didn't  I  say  so  ?  "  exclaimed  Judy. 

"  But  it  was  her  Bible  that  answered  me 
—  hers  and  my  own." 

"  When  did  she  help  you  ?  "  Norton  broke 
out  from  his  corner  where  he  had  been  toss- 


TRADING.  319 

ing  his  book.  "  You  and  she  are  not  such 
particular  friends,  that  ever  I  knew." 

"  O  but  I  think  we  are  now,  Norton,"  said 
Matilda. 

"  Yes,"  said  David,  with  a  smile.  "  And 
she  has  been  my  friend  for  a  good  while." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Norton,  returning  to  his 
book,  which  he  tossed  over  and  over  with 
greater  exactness  than  ever. 

"  I  wash  my  hands  of  you,  both  of  you," 
cried  Judy.  "  You'll  be  a  religious  poke  — 
O  mamma!  to  think  that  we  should  have  any 
thing  religious  in  our  family.  And  Matilda 
always  was  a  poke.  Whatever  will  become 
of  us,  with  two  of  them!" 

"  You  have  more  to  do  with  it  than  you 
think,  Judy,"  said  her  brother.  "  The  way 
Matilda  bore  your  persecutions  was  the  first 
thing  that  made  me  want  to  know  about  her 
religion." 

"  What  persecutions  ?  "  Mrs.  Bartholomew 
asked ;  but  nobody  seemed  ready  to  answer 
her,  and  she  went  on  — *• "  Judy,  you  are  a 


320  TRADING. 

fool.  David  might  change  his  opinions, 
surely,  without  being  a  poke.  My  son,  you 
do  not  mean  to  be  different  from  what  you 
have  always  been,  —  do  you  ?  " 

David  hesitated,  and  said,  "  I  hope  so, 
mother." 

"  Different —  how?  "    she  a^ked  quickly. 

"  1  am  the  King's  servant,  mamma,"  he 
answered  with  a  certain  steadfastness  which 
had  much  dignity  about  it. 

"  Well,  what  then ?  what  does  that 
mean?" 

"  Then  of  course  I  must  do  the  King's 
commands,  mamma." 

"Didn't  you  always?" 

David's  answer  was  prevented  by  a  fresh 
outburst  of  Judy's  reproaches  and  charges, 
which  lasted  till  her  brother  took  himself  out 
of  hearing;  then  silence  fell.  Norton  stop 
ped  the  book  exercise  and  looked  about 
him.  Matilda's  face  he  had  seen  by  glimpses; 
he  knew  it  was  flushed  and  anxious  and  glad 


TRADING.  321 

at  once.  Mrs.  Laval  and  her  sister  were 
grave,  with  different  styles  of  gravity  ;  one 
thoughtful,  the  other  vexed.  Old  Mrs.  Lloyd 
was  in  tears. 


21 


CHAPTER    XII. 

r  I  ""HE  atmosphere  of  the  house  was  very 
quiet  during  several  successive  days,  as 
far  as  Matilda  could  observe  it.  The  boys 
were  extremely  busy  at  school ;  and  at  home 
there  was  no  public  recurrence  of  Monday 
night's  discussion.  In  private  Mrs.  Laval 
questioned  Matilda  very  closely  as  to  all  the 
particulars  of  their  Shadywalk  expedition 
and  all  that  she  had  known  for  weeks  past  of 
David's  state  of  mind.  She  made  no  com 
ment  on  the  answers  ;  and  Matilda  heard  no 
more  about  the  matter,  until  Saturday  morn 
ing  came.  Then  when  they  were  at  break 
fast,  Mrs.  Bartholomew  said  in  a  conciliating 
tone,  — 

"  David,  my  son,  I  don't  see  any  necessity 
for  that  communication  you  are  proposing  to 
make  to  your  uncles." 


TEADINa.  323 

"I  must  go  to  see  them,  mamma." 

"Certainly;  that  is  all  just  and  proper; 
but  there  is  no  occasion  to  talk  to  them  about 
your  change  of  views." 

"  Then  they  would  believe  me  what  I  am 
not." 

"Well  —  "  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew ;  "they 
would  a  great  deal  rather  believe  so  than 
know  the  truth." 

"  Would  you  have  liked  me  to  hide  it  from 
you,  mamma  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know ;  yes,  —  I  think  I  should." 

"  What  would  have  been  your  opinion  of 
me  by  and  by,  when  you  came  to  find  it 
out?" 

"Just  the  truth,"  said  Judy  languidly. 
"  Nothing  can  make  you  more  of  a  sneak 
than  you  are  already." 

"  One  thing,"  said  David  firmly.  "  To  get, 
or  try  to  get,  my  uncles'  money  under  false 
pretences.  You  know  they  would  never  give 
it  to  a  Christian." 

"Judy,"    said    Mrs.    Lloyd,    "another   ill- 


324  TRADING. 

bred  word  like  that,  and  I  send  you  from  the 
table." 

"  But  my  dear  boy,"  Mrs.  Bartholomew 
went  on,  "  you  said  Monday  night  that  you 
were  as  much  of  a  Jew  as  ever." 

"  The  poor  fellow  was  afraid  of  falling 
between  two  stools,''  said  Judy;  "so  he 
clutched  at  'em  both,  without  thinking." 

"And  you  are  very  young;  and  you  do 
not  know  what  your  opinions  may  be  in  a  few 
years  more.  And  in  the  mean  while,  I  am 
very  unwilling  that  you  should  ofiend  your 
uncles.  They  would  never  get  over  it." 

"  I  guess  they  wouldn't,"  said  Judy. 
"What  a  time  David  will  have  with  'em!" 

"  Don't  you  see,  my  dear,"  pursued  Mrs. 
Bartholomew,  "  it  is  unnecessary,  and  may 
be  premature,  and  so  unwise?" 

"  Mother,"  said  David,  evidently  struggling 
wiih  his  feelings,  "  Messiah  has  said  that  he 
will  not  own  those  who  do  not  own  him." 

"  You'll  get  nothing  out  of  him,  mamma," 
said  Judy.  u  He  is  one  of  Matilda's  crazy 


TRADING.  325 

kind.  He  is  going  to  get  rid  of  his  money 
as  fast  as  he  can ;  and  then  he  will  turn 
chaplain  of  some  jail,  I  should  think  ;  or  else 
he  will  get  a  place  as  a  Methodist  parson  and 
go  poking  into  ah1  the  poor  places  of  the 
earth  ;  and  then  we  shall  see  his  name  up  in 
bills  — '  Preaching  at  the  cross  corners  to 
night  —  Rev.  David  Bartholomew  will  speak 
to  the  people  from  a  candle  box.' " 

David  changed  colour  once  or  twice,  but  he 
said  nothing. 

"  Matilda  Laval,"  said  Judy  sharply,  "  eat 
your  breakfast !  He  won't  want  you  to  help 
him  preach." 

Matilda  wondered  privately  that  the  elders 
were  so  patient  of  Judy's  tongue  and  so  very 
silent  themselves.  They  seemed  to  have 
thoughts  not  ready  for  utterance.  At  any 
rate  the  breakfast  party  broke  up  with  Judy 
having  the  last  word,  and  scattered  their 
several  ways ;  and  Matilda  heard  no  more  on 
David's  subject  for  some  time.  How  the 
Saturday's  work  issued  she  did  not  know; 


326  TRADING. 

nothing  was  said  about  it  in  her  hearing; 
and  David  looked  as  happy  and  as  calm  as 
he  had  done  before  Saturday.  She  watched 
him,  and  she  was  sure  of  that. 

One  afternoon,  it  was  a  Sunday,  and  the 
ladies  of  the  family  were  shut  up  in  their 
rooms,  resting  or  dressing,  Matilda  and  David 
were  alone  in  the  little  reception  room.  It  was 
the  hour  before  dinner;  Matilda  had  come  in 
from  Sunday  school  and  was  sitting  there  wiih 
a  new  book,  when  David  joined  her.  He  sat 
down  beside  her,  Matilda  knew  immediately, 
for  a  talk ;  and  she  shut  up  her  book. 

"  Matilda,  I  have  been  reading  about  the 
men  with  the  talents;  the  five  talents,  and 
the  ten  talents,  you  know  ?  " 

"  Yes,  t  know." 

"  I  am  afraid  I  don't  know  all  my  talents." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  David  ?  " 

u  The  talents  are  whatever  is  given  to  us 
to  use  for  God  —  and  that  is,  whatever  is 
given  to  us ;  for  we  may  use  it  all  for  him." 

"  Yes,  David." 


TRADING.  327 

«  Well  — that  means  a  great  deal,  Tilly." 

"  Yes,  I  know  it  does." 

"  And  one  might  easily  have  talents  that 
one  didn't  think  of;  lying  by  so,  and  not 
used  at  all." 

"  I  dare  say  they  often  do,"  Matilda  said 
thoughtfully. 

"  I  want  you  to  help  me,  if  you  can." 

"/help  you?"  said  Matilda  very  humbly. 

"  You  have  been  longer  in  the  way  than  I. 
You  ought  to  know  more  about  it." 

"  I  am  afraid  I  don't,  though,  David.  But 
I  guess  Jesus  will  teach  us,  if  we  ask  him." 

"I  am  sure  of  that;  but  I  think  he  means 
that,  we  should  help  one  another.  What  can 
I  do,  that  I  am  not  doing  ?  " 

Matilda  thought  a  little,  and  then  went  up 
stairs  and  fetched  the  card  of  covenant  and 
work  of  the  old  Band  at  Shadywalk.  She 
put  it  in  David's  hands,  and  he  studied  it 
with  great  interest 

"  There  is  help  in  this,"  he  said.  "  There 
are  things  here  I  never  thought  of.  '  Carry- 


328  TRADING. 

ing  the  message  '  —  of  course  I  needn't  wait 
till  I  have  finished  my  studies  and  am  grown 
up,  to  do  that ;  it  is  easy  to  begin  now." 

"  Are  you  going  to  do  tliat,  when  you  are 
grown  up  ?"  said  Matilda  a  little  timidly. 

"  As  a  profession,  you  mean.  I  don't 
know,  Tilly ;  if  the  Lord  pleases.  I  am  all 
his  anyway  ;  I  don't  care  how  he  uses  me. 
What  I  want  to  know  is  my  duty  now. 
Then,  Tilly,  I  have  plenty  of  money." 

"  That's  a  very  good  thing,"  said  Matilda 
smiling. 

«  What  shall  I  do  with  it  ?  Do  your  poor 
people  want  anything  ?  " 

"Sarah  Staples?  O  no  !  they  are  getting 
on  nicely.  Sarah  has  learned  how  to  sew  on 
a  machine,  or  partly  learned ;  and  she  gets 
work  to  do  now  ;  and  Mrs.  Staples  is  stronger, 
and  is  able  to  take  in  washing.  O  no ;  they 
are  getting  along  very  well." 

"  There  must  be  others,"  said  David 
thoughtfully. 

"  Yes,   plenty    I    suppose ;  only   we   don't 


TEADING.  329 

know  them,  David !  perhaps  Sarah  knowsy 
or  her  mother." 

"  What  if  we  were  to  go  and  ask  them  ?  " 

Matilda  decided  that  it  was  a  capital  plan ; 
and  they  arranged  to  go  the  next  Saturday 
afternoon,  when  David  would  be  at  leisure. 
And  the  week  seemed  long  till  the  Saturday 
came. 

"  Pink,"  said  Norton  at  their  dinner,  "  I 
will  take  you  into  the  Park  this  afternoon." 

"  O  thank  you,  Norton !  But  —  I  can't  go. 
I  have  an  engagement  to  go  to  see  Sarah 
Staples." 

"  Sarah  Staples !  Sarah  Staples  can  wait, 
and  I  can't.  I  have  only  one  Saturday  after 
noon  a  week.  It'll  be  splendid  this  afternoon, 
Pink.  The  Park  is  all  green  and  flowery, 
and  it's  sure  to  be  full.  I'm  going  just  at  the 
fullest  time." 

"  I  should  like  to  go  with  you ;  but  I  have 
business,  and  I  can't  put  it  off." 

"  I'll  wait,  Tilly,  if  you  wish,"  David  said. 

"  I  don't  wish  it  at  all,  David.  I  would 
rather  not  wait." 


330  T/iADIXfJ. 

"O  it's  your  business  too,  is  it!"  said 
Norton.  "  And  Pink  would  rather  not  wait. 
Very  good.'* 

"  It  is  important  business,  really,  Norton," 
Matilda  pleaded  ;  "  it  is  not  for  myself.'' 

"  That's  just  what  proves  it  of  no  impor 
tance,"  said  Norton.  "  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  David  and  I  want  to  see  Mrs.  Staples  to 
find  out  something  we  want  to  know." 

"  Might  as  well  ask  the  Sphinx,"  said  Nor 
ton  discontentedly. 

"  I  would  just  as  lief  tell  you  what,  Nor 
ton  ;  only  it  is  something  you  don't  care 
about,  and  it  would  give  you  no  pleasure." 

"  May  as  well  let  'em  go,  Norton,"  re 
marked  Judy,  eating  strawberries  at  a  tre 
mendous  rate ;  it  was  not  strawberry  time  by 
any  means,  but  these  came  from  the  South. 
"  May  as  well  let  'em  go ;  there's  a  pair  of 
'em  ;  and  they'll  run,  I  guess,  till  they  run 
their  heads  against  something  or  other  and 
pull  up  so  ;  or  till  they  get  swamped.  /  hope 
they'll  get  swamped." 


TRADING.  331 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  said  Norton, 
gruffly  enough. 

Judy  nodded  her  head  at  him  in  a  very 
lively  way  over  her  strawberries. 

"  They  are  latter-day  saints,  don't  you 
know?  They  are  going  to  feed  everybody 
on  custards — not  us,  you  know;  we've  got 
strawberries ;  but  the  people  that  haven't. 
Matilda's  going  to  make  them,  and  Davy's 
going  to  carry  them  round  ;  and  they're  going 
out  to  buy  eggs  this  afternoon.  They  expect 
you  and  me  to  give  'em  the  sugar  they 
want." 

"  Not  so  sanguine  as  that,  Judy,"  said  her 
brother  good-humouredly. 

Norton  looked  very  much  discomposed ; 
but  David  and  Matilda  had  no  time  to  spend 
in  further  talking. 

They  found  Mrs.  Staples  at  home,  and 
Sarah  too,  as  it  was  Saturday  afternoon. 
The  little  room  looked  cosy  and  comfortable  ; 
for  it  was  very  tidy  and  very  clean,  and  the 
mother  and  daughter  were  peacefully  at 


33 2  TRADING. 

work.  The  pleasure  manifested  at  sight  of 
David  and  Matilda  was  very  lively.  Sarah 
set  chairs,  and  her  mother  looked  to  the  fire  in 
the  stove. 

"  How  does  the  oven  work,  Mrs.  Staples  ?  " 
Matilda  asked. 

"  Couldn't  be  no  better,  and  couldn't  do  no 
better.  I  declare!  it's  beautiful.  Why  after 
I  got  my  hand  in,  I  baked  a  pan  o'  biscuits 
the  other  day ;  and  they  riz  up  and  browned, 
you  never  see !  and  the  boys  was  too  happy 
for  anything.  I  wisht  you'd  seen  'em,  just. 
They  thought  nothin'  ever  was  so  good, 
afore  or  since.  Yes'm,  it's  a  first-rate  oven  ; 
bakes  apples  too,  in  the  most  likely  manner." 

"  How  is  the  neighbourhood,  Mrs.  Sta 
ples  ? "  David  asked. 

"  Well,  sir,  there's  nothin'  agin  the  neigh 
bourhood.  They  be's  a  little  noisy,  by  times; 
you  can't  expect  they  wouldn't ;  now  the 
sun's  warm  in  the  streets  and  the  children 
gets  out  o'  their  holes  and  corners.  I  some 
times  think,  what  a  mercy  it  is  the  sun  shines! 


TRADING.  333 

and  specially  to  them  as  hain't  no  fire  or  next 
to  none.  I  often  think  the  Lord's  more  merci 
ful  than  what  men  is." 

"  Do  you  think  it  is  men's  fault  then,  other 
men's,  that  such  poor  people  haven't  fire  to 
keep  them  warm  ?  " 

"  Well  whose  should  it  be,  sir,  if  it 
wouldn't?" 

"  Might  it  not  be  the  people's  own 
fault?" 

"Sartain!"  cried  Mrs.  Staples,  "when 
the  money  goes  for  drink.  But  why  does  it 
go  for  drink  ?  I  tell  you,  sir,  folks  loses 
heart  when  they  knows  there  ain't  enough  to 
make  a  fire  and  buy  somethin'  to  cook  on 
the  fire;  and  they  goes  off  for  what'll  be 
meat  and  fire  and  forgetfulness  too,  for  a 
time.  And  that's  because  of  the  great  rents, 
that  people  that  has  no  mercy  lays  on ;  and 
the  mean  little  prices  for  work  that  is  all  one 
can  get  often,  and  be  thankful  for  that.  It's 
just  runnin'  a  race  with  your  strength  givin' 
out  every  foot  o'  the  way.  And  it's  allays 


the  rich  folks  does  it,"  added  Mrs.  Staples, 
not  very  coherently. 

"  Rich  people  that  give  the  low  wages  and 
put  on  the  high  rents,  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  That's  what  I  just  do  mean  ;  and  I  ought 
to  know.  If  a  body  once  gets  down,  there's 
no  chance  to  get  up  again,  and  then  the  drink 
comes  easy." 

"  Do  you  know  of  anybody  in  distress 
near  here,  Mrs.  Staples  ?  "  Matilda  asked. 

"  Half  of  'em  is,  I  guess,"  was  the  an 
swer. 

"But  is  there  anybody  you  know?" 

"  Mrs.  Binn's  little  boy  is  sick,"  remarked 
Sarah,  as  her  mother  was  pondering. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  him  ?  " 

"  It's  a  kind  o'  waste,  they  say." 

"  Not  a  fever,  or  anything  of  that  kind  ?  " 
inquired  David. 

"  O  no,  sir;  he's  been  wasting,  now,  these 
three  or  four  months."' 

"  And  they  are  not  comfortable,  Sarah  ? " 
Matilda  asked. 


TRADING.  335 

"  There's  few  is,  livin'  where  those  lives," 
said  Mrs.  Staples ;  "  and  of  course,  sickness 
makes  things  wuss.  No,  they're  fur  from 
comfortable,  I  should  say." 

"  They  haven't  anything  to  give  him,"  said 
Sarah  low  to  Matilda. 

"  Any  medicine,  you  mean  ?" 

"  No,  Miss  Matilda ;  nothing  to  eat,  that 
he  can  eat." 

"  O  David  ! "  exclaimed  Matilda,  u  let  us 
go  there.  Where  is  it  ?  " 

David  inquired  again  carefully  about  the 
sickness,  to  be  sure  that  he  might  take  Ma 
tilda  there ;  and  then  they  went.  Sarah 
volunteered  to  guide  them.  But  how  shall  I 
tell  what  they  found.  It  was  not  far  off,  a 
few  blocks  only ;  in  one  of  a  tall  row  of 
tenement  houses,  grim  and  dismal,  con 
fronted  by  a  like  row  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street.  Every  one  like  every  other.  But  in 
side,  Matilda  only  remembered  how  unlike  it 
was  to  all  she  had  ever  seen  in  her  life  before. 
Even  Lilac  lane  was  pleasantness  and  com- 


336  TRADING. 

fort  comparatively.  The  house  was  sound 
indeed ;  there  was  no  tumble-down  condition 
of  staircase  or  walls ;  the  steps  were  safe,  as 
they  mounted  flight  after  flight.  But  the 
entries  were  narrow  and  dirty  ;  the  stairways 
had  never  seen  water ;  the  walls  were  be 
grimed  with  the  countless  touches  of  count 
less  dirty  hands  and  with  the  sweeping  by  of 
foul  draperies.  Instinctively  Matilda  drew 
her  own  close  round  her.  And  as  they  went 
up  and  up,  further  from  the  street  door,  the 
air  grew  more  close  and  unbearable;  heavy 
with  vapours  and  odours  that  had  no  chance  at 
any  time  to  feel  the  purification  of  a  draught 
of  free  air.  Poor  cookery,  soapsuds,  unclean 
humanity  and  dirty  still  life,  mingled  their 
various  smell  in  one  heavy  undistinguishabie 
oppression. 

"  Oh,  why  do  people  build  houses  so  high  ! " 
said  little  Matilda,  as  she  toiled  with  her 
tired  feet  up  the  fourth  staircase. 

"  For  more  rents,  Miss  Matilda,"  said 
Sarah  who  preceded  them. 


TRADING.  337 

"  For  money!  "  said  Matilda.  "  How  tired 
the  people  must  be  that  live  here." 

"  They  don't  go  down  often,"  Sarah  re 
marked. 

At  the  very  top  of  the  house  they  were  at 
/ast.  There,  in  the  end  of  the  narrow  entry- 
way,  on  the  floor,  was  —  what?  A  tumbled 
heap  of  dirty  clothes,  Matilda  thought  at 
first,  and  was  about  to  pass  it  to  go  to  the 
door  which  she  supposed  Sarah  was  making 
for;  when  Sarah  stopped  and  drew  aside  a 
piece  of  netting  that  was  stretched  there. 
And  then  they  saw,  on  the  rags  which  served 
for  his  bed  covers,  the  child  they  had  come  to 
see.  A'  little,  withered,  shrunken  piece  of 
humanity,  so  nearly  the  colour  of  the  rags  he 
lay  upon  that  his  dark  shock  of  matted  curly 
hair  made  a  startling  spot  in  the  pic 
ture. 

«  What's  the  matter,  Sarah  ?  "  said  Ma 
tilda  in  a  distressed  whisper. 

"  This  is  Mrs.  Binn's  boy,  Miss  Matilda, 
that  you  came  to  see." 

22 


338  TRADING. 

"  That  ?  Why  does  he  —  why  do  they  put 
him  there?" 

"  Mrs.  Binn's  room  is  so  small  and  so  hot. 
It's  there,  Miss  Matilda ;  you'll  see  it  When 
she's  doing  her  washing  and  ironing,  the 
place  is  so  full  of  steam  and  so  hot ;  and 
there  ain't  no  room  for  the  bed  neither ;  and 
so  she  put  Josh  here." 

Sarah  led  the  way  to  Mrs.  Binn's  room, 
and  Matilda  followed  her  in  a  bewildered 
state  of  mind.  She  saw  as  soon  as  the  door 
was  opened  the  truth  of  Sarah's  statements. 
The  attic  room  was  so  small  that  Mrs.  Binn's 
operations  must  have  been  carried  on  with 
the  greatest  difficulty;  impossible  Matilda 
would  have  thought  them,  but  there  were  the 
facts.  One  dormer  window  in  the  roof  was 
effectually  shut  up  and  hindered  from  its 
office  of  admitting  air,  by  the  pipe  of  the 
stove  which  passed  out  through  the  sash. 
As  it  was  the  end  of  the  week,  no  washing 
encumbered  the  six  feet  clear  of  space ;  but 
the  stove  was  fired  up  and  Mrs.  Binn  \va» 


TRADING.  339 

ironing  and  some  clothes  were  hung  up  to 
air.  It  was  neither  desirable  nor  very  practi 
cable  to  go  in;  only  Matilda  edged  a  little 
way  within  the  door,  and  David  and  Sarah 
stood  at  the  opening. 

"  What's  all  to  do  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Binn  at 
this  unlooked-for  interruption,  stopping  iron 
in  hand  and  peering  at  them  between  shirts 
and  overalls  hanging  on  the  cords  stretched 
across  the  room.  She  was  a  red-faced 
woman;  no  wonder!  a  small,  incapable- 
looking,  worn-out-seeming  woman  besides. 

"  This  lady  has  come  to  see  Josh,  Mrs. 
Binn."  , 

"  What  does  she  want  of  him  ?  " 

"Nothing,"  said  Matilda  gently;  "Sarah 
told  us  how  he  had  been  sick  a  long  while ; 
and  we  came  to  see  how  he  was  and  what  he 
wanted." 

"  He  won't  want  anything  soon,  but  a  coffin 
and  a  grave,"  said  his  mother.  Matilda 
wondered  how  she  could  speak  so  ;  she  did 
not  know  yet  how  long  misery  makes  people 


340  TRADING. 

seem  hard.  "  How  he'll  get  them,  I  don't 
know,''  Mrs.  Binn  went  on  ;  "  but  I  s'pose  —  " 

Iler  voice  choked  ;uul  she  stopped  there. 

"  Have  you  no  place  to  put  him  but  \vlirn> 
he  is  lying?  "  Matilda  asked,  by  way  of  lead 
ing  on  to  something  else. 

"No,  miss;  no  place,"  said  the  woman, 
feeling  of  her  iron  and  taking  up  another  one 
from  the  stove.  "  He'd  perish  in  here,  if 
he  wouldn't  be  under  my  feet.  An'  I  must 
stand,  to  live." 

"  Where  do  you  dry  the  clothes  you 
wash  ?  " 

"  Here.     I  haven't  an  inch  besides." 

V 

"  I  don't  see  how  you  can." 

"  Rich  folks  don't  see  a  sight  o'  things," 
said  poor  Mrs.  Binn ;  "  don't  like  to,  I  guess." 

"  Is  there  not  another  room  in  the  house 
that  you  could  have  for  the  sick  boy,  or  that 
you  could  do  your  washing  in  and  give  him 
this?" 

"  Room  in  this  house  ?  "  repeated  the  wo 
man.  "  I'll  tell  you.  There's  nigh  upon  three 


TEADING.  341 

hundred  people  living  in  it;  do  you  think 
there'd  be  a  room  to  spare  ?  " 

"  Three  hundred  people  in  this  house  ?  " 
repeated  Matilda. 

"  Nigh  upon  that.  O  it's  close  livin',  and 
all  sorts,  and  all  ways  o'  livin',  too.  I  like  my 
room,  'cause  it's  so  high  and  atop  o'  every 
thing  ;  but  I  hear  thunder  below  me  some 
times.  I  wouldn't  care,  only  for  the  child," 
she  said  in  a  tone  a  little  subdued. 

"  David,  what  can  we  do  ?  "  said  Matilda, 
in  a  half  despairing  whisper.  David  edged 
himself  a  little  forward  and  put  his  ques 
tion. 

"  What  does  the  doctor  say  about  him?" 

"Doctor!"  echoed  Mrs.  Binn.  "Did  you 
say  doctor  ?  There's  no  doctor  has  seen 
him.  Is  it  likely  one  would  walk  up  to  this 
chimbley  top  to  see  a  poor  boy  like  that? 
No,  no;  doctors  has  to  be  paid,  and  I  can't  do 
that." 

"  What  do  you  give  him  to  eat  ?  what 
does  he  like  ?  " 


342  TRADING. 

"What  does  he  like!"  the  woman  re 
peated.  "  He  don't  like  notliin'  he  has,  and 
he  don't  eat  nothin'.  'Tain't  '  what  we  like,' 
young  sir,  that  lives  in  these  places.  Some 
days  he  can't  swaller  dry  bread,  and  he  don't 
care  for  mush;  he'll  take  a  sup  o'  milk  now  and 
then,  when  I  can  get  it;  but  it's  poor  thin 
stuff;  somethin'  you  call  milk,  and  that's 
all." 

"  Good  bye,"  said  David.  "  I'll  bring  him 
something  he  will  like,  perhaps.  I  hope  we 
haven't  hindered  you." 

"  I  don't  have  so  many  visits  I  need  quarrel 
with  this  one,"  said  the  woman,  coming  to 
her  door  to  shew  them  so  much  civility ; 
"  Sarah  wouldn't  bring  anybody  to  make  a 
spectacle  of  me." 

They  cast  looks  on  the  poor  little  brown 
heap  in  the  corner  of  the  entry,  and  groped 
their  way  down  stairs  again.  But  when  they 
got  out  into  the  street  and  drew  breaths  of 
fresh  air,  David  and  Matilda  stood  still  and 
looked  at  each  other. 


TRADING.  343 

"  I  never  knew  what  good  air  meant  be 
fore,"  said  the  latter. 

"  And  even  this  is  not  good"  replied 
David. 

"  How  does  he  live,  that  poor  little  crea 
ture,  with  not  one  breath  of  it  ?  " 

"  He  doesn't  live ;  he  is  dying  slowly," 
said  David. 

"  Oh  David,  what  can  we  do  ?  " 

"  We'll  think,  Tilly.  I'll  carry  him  some 
grapes  presently.  I  fancy  he  wants  nothing 
but  food  and  air.  We  will  contrive  some 
thing." 

"  I  wonder  if  there  are  any  other  sick 
children  in  that  house,  Sarah  ? "  Matilda 
asked. 

"  I  can't  say,  Miss  Matilda ;  I  don't  know 
nobody  there  but  Mrs.  Binn ;  and  we  used  to 
know  her  before  she  moved  there.  Do  you 
want  to  know  of  anybody  else  in  trouble  ?  " 

"  Do  you  think  of  somebody  else  ?  " 

"  Not  a  child,"  said  Sarah  ;  "  she's  an  old 
woman,  or  kind  of  old." 


344  TRADING. 

"  Well ;  who  is  she  ?  " 

"She's  Mrs.  Kitteredge;  her  husband's  a 
brick  mason.  Mother  used  to  know  her  long 
ago,  and  she  was  a  smart  woman  ;  but  she's 
had  a  deal  o'  pulling  down." 

"  What  does  she  want  now,  Sarah  ?  " 

"  It's  too  bad  to  tell  you,  Miss  Matilda ; 
you've  done  so  much  for  us  already." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  David  ;  "  go  on  ;  let  us 
henr." 

«  \\Vll  "  _  Sarah  hesitated. 

"  T*  she  sick  too  ?  " 

"  No,  she  ain't  sick ;  she  has  been." 

"What  then?" 

"  I  don't  feel  as  if  I  had  no  right  to  tell  you, 
sir;  you  and  Miss  Matilda.  I  spoke  bc.'orr 
I  thought  enough  about  it.  She  ain't  no 
ways  sick  ;  but  she  has  had  some  sort  o'  sick 
ness  that  has  made  her  fingers  all  crumple 
up,  like  ;  they  have  bent  in  so,  and  she  can't 
straighten  'em  out,  not  a  bit;  and' if  you 
take  hold  of  Yin  you  can  only  pull  'cm  open 
a  little  bit.  And  it  hurts  her  so  to  do  her 
work,  poor  thing!  " 


TRADING.  345 

"  Do  what  work  ?  " 

"  All  her  work,  Miss  Matilda  —  same  as  if 
her  hands  was  good.  She  washes  and  irons 
her  clothes  and  his,  and  cooks  for  him,  and 
makes  her  room  clean  ;  but  it  takes  her  all 
day  'most ;  and  sometimes,  she  says,  she  gets 
out  o'  heart  and  feels  like  sittin'  down  and 
givin'  up ;  but  she  never  does,  leastways 
when  I  see  her.  I  go  in  and  make  her  bed 
when  I  can  ;  that's  what  she  hardly  can  do 
for  herself." 

"  I  should  think  not !  "  said  Matilda. 

"  She  can't  lift  her  hands  to  her  head  to  put 
up  her  hair;  and  she  suffers  a  deal." 

"  Is  she  so  very  poor  too,  Sarah  ?  " 

"No,  Miss  Matilda,  it  ain't  that.  He  gets 
good  wages  and  brings  'em  home  ;  but  he's 
a  pertiklar  man  and  he  expects  she'll  have 
everything  just  as  smart  as  if  she  had  her 
fingers." 

"  Then  what  can  we  do  for  her,  Sarah  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  ma'am  ;  —  I  was  thinkin', 
if  she  could  have  one  o'  them  rollers  that 


346  TRADING. 

wrings  clothes  —  it  tries  her  awful  to  wring 
'em  with  her  hands." 

"  A  clothes-wringer!  O  yes,"  cried  Ma 
tilda. 

«  What  is  that  ?  "  said  David. 

"  I  will  shew  you.  Thank  you,  Sarah ;  it 
was  quite  right  to  tell  us.  We'll  see  what 
we  can  do." 

But  after  they  had  parted  from  Sarah  the 
little  girl  walked  quite  silently  and  soberly 
homeward.  David  stopped  at  a  grocer's  to 
get  some  white  grapes,  and  turned  back  to 
carry  them  to  the  sick  child ;  and  Matilda 
went  the  rest  of  her  way  alone. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

H\  AVID  was  busy  with  his  books  all  the 
evening,  and  Matilda,  however  much 
she  wished  for  it,  could  get  no  talk  with  him. 
The  opportunity  did  not  come  before  Sunday 
evening,  when  they  were  all  at  tea  in  the 
little  reception  room.  Then  David  took  his 
cup  and  his  piece  of  cake  and  came  to  Ma 
tilda's  side  and  sat  down. 

"  Dr.  Berger  has  been  to  see  that  little 
boy,"  he  said. 

"  Has  he !     And  what  does  he  say  ? 

"  Says  nothing  ails  him  but  want." 

«  Want  ?  "     Matilda  repeated. 

"  Want,  of  everything.  Specially,  want 
of  food  —  food  good  for  anything ;  and  of 
air." 

«  Want  of  air  !  "  cried  Matilda.     «  I  don't 


348  TRADING. 

wonder  at  it.  I  felt  as  if  I  should  be  unable 
to  breathe  if  we  staid  there  much  longer. 
And  I  was  strong  and  well.  Just  think,  to 
anybody  sick  !  —  " 

"  He   says,  if  he  could    be   taken   into  the 
country  he  would  begin  to  get   well    imme 
diately ;  and   he  asked   Mrs.  Binn   if  she  had 
friends  anywhere  out  of  the  city." 
"What  did  she  say?" 

"  Said  her  father  and  mother  and  her  aunt 
were  all  dead  long  ago  ;  and  that  >he  hadn't 
a  friend   in   the  city  or  out  of  it.     And  she 
gave  up  work  then  for  a  minute  or  t\vo,  ami 
sat  down  with  her  apron  over  her  head  ;  the 
only  time   I  have  seen  her  stop  work  at  all. 
I  think  it  was   her  apron,  but  I  don't  know; 
she    hid  her    face    in    something.      But   she 
didn't  cry,  Matilda;  not  a  drop." 
«  What  can  we  do,  David  ?  " 
"  I  took  him  some  grapes,  you  know." 
"  Yes.     Could  he  eat  them  ?  " 
"  Had  no  sort  of  difficulty  about  that." 
"  What  can  we  do,  David  ?  "     Matilda  re 
peated  anxiously. 


TRACING.  349 

"  I  have  thought  of  this.  We  might  pay 
the  woman  for  a  week  or  two  as  much  as 
she  gets  by  her  washing  and  let  her  take  him 
into  her  room  and  put  down  her  fire  and 
make  him  comfortable.  She  cannot  open  her 
window ;  but  we  can  send  them  a  decent  bed 
and  some  clean  coverings  and  some  good 
things  to  feed  the  fellow  with.  I  spoke  to 
Mrs.  Binn  about  giving  up  her  washing;  she 
said  she  couldn't  afford  to  lose  her  customers. 
She  might  manage  it  for  a  week  or  so, 
though." 

"  And  then  ?  A  week  or  two  would  not 
cure  him,  David  ?  " 

"  I  doubt  if  any  time  would,  in  that  air. 
Perhaps  we  can  get  him  out  into  the  country 
by  the  end  of  the  week  or  two." 

"  Oh,  David !  "  —  Matilda  exclaimed  after 
a  few  minutes  of  perplexed  thinking.  What 
more  she  would  have  said  was  cut  short. 
They  had  been  speaking  very  low,  but  those 
last  two  words  had  come  out  with  a  little 
energy,  and  Judy  caught  them  up. 


350  TRADING. 

"  O  David,  what?  You  have  been  plotting 
mischief  long  enough,  you  two;  what  are 
you  up  to  ?  Grandmamma,  make  them  tell. 
Matilda  is  making  a  fool  of  David.  I  wish 
you'd  stop  it." 

David  looked  up  and  over  towards  Mrs. 
Lloyd  with  a  frank  smile. 

"  He  don't  look  much  like  it,"  said  the  old 
lady  composedly.  "  What  are  you  afraid  of, 
Judy?" 

"  Grandmamma,  the  whole  house  is  getting 
on  end,"  said  the  young  lady,  who  was  not 
always  choice  in  the  use  of  her  words. 
"  David  and  Matilda  are  busy  contriving  how 
to  make  a  big  hole  in  the  bottom  of  their  two 
purses  that  will  let  out  the  money  easy  ;  and 
Norton's  hair  is  bristling  already  with  fear." 

"  Fear  of  what,  you  goose?  "  said  Norton 
in  lowering  displeasure.  "What's  their 
money  to  me?" 

"  I  thought  you  wanted  it,"  said  Judy 
coolly. 

"  Come  here,  Norton,"  said  David ;  "  corne 


TRADING.  351 

over  here  and  let  her  alone.  What  are  you 
afraid  of,  old  fellow  ?  Come !  smooth  out 
your  wrinkles  and  let  us  know." 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  it,"  said 
Norton  distantly.  "You  and  Matilda  went 
on  an  errand  yesterday  that  lets  anybody 
guess  what  you  are  up  to  to-day." 

"  Guess,"  said  David.  "  Come,  sit  down 
here  and  guess." 

"  You  are  doing  what  Judy  says." 

"  Holes  in  purses  ?  "  said  David.  ll  Go  on  ; 
what  do  you  think  we  are  making  the  holes 
with  ?  " 

"  Ridiculous  stories  about  poor  folks." 

"  I'll  let  you  judge  how  ridiculous  they  are," 
said  David  ;  and  he  told  about  the  sick  boy 
and  Mrs.  Binn's  six  foot  apartment.  Norton's 
face  would  not  unbend. 

"  Is  that  the  only  sick  child  in  New  York?  " 
he  asked. 

"  I  am  afraid  not." 

"  Then  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  the 
others?" 


352  TRADING. 

"  Help  as  many  of  them  as  ever  1  can," 
David  answered  gravely. 

"  Go  on,  and  your  money  will  go  too. 
That's  what  I  said,"  Norton  responded. 
"  Matilda  will  be  only  too  glad  to  help  you 
and  throw  in  all  her  pennies." 

"  How  would  you  like  to  be  sick,  old  fellow, 
with  no  lemons  at  hand,  and  no  grapes?" 

"  And  no  wine,  Norton,  and  no  sago,  and 
no  clean  sheets?  I  know  who  likes  to  have 
his  bed  changed  often.  And  no  cups  of  tea, 
and  soda  biscuit,  and  blancmange,  and  jelly, 
and  nice  slices  of  toast." 

"What  do  they  have?"  Norton  asked 
with  some  curiosity. 

"  Some  coarse  mush ;  now  and  then  a 
piece  of  dry  bread;  and  water.  Not  ice 
water,  Norton ;  no  ice  gets  up  there." 

"  Bread  and  water,"  said  Norton,  sum 
ming  up. 

"  And  to  lie  in  a  corner  of  the  entry,  Nor 
ton,  under  the  roof,  because  there  is  no  room, 
for  you  in  the  only  room  they  have ;  and  no 


TRADING.  353 

open   window  ever ;    and   oh,  such   want  of 
it!" 

"  Look  here  !  "  exclaimed  Norton,  seizing 
upon  a  diversion,  "  how  came  you,  Davy,  to 
take  Pink  to  such  a  place?  I  just  want  to 
know." 

"  Not  a  place  for  a  Pink,  I  acknowledge," 
said  David.  "  I  didn't  know  myself,  Norton, 
till  I  got  there,  what  sort  of  a  place  it  was ; 
or  she  would  not  have  gone." 

"Upon  my  word!"  said  Norton.  "This 
is  what  your  goodness  is  up  to.  Mamma  —  " 

"  Hush,"  said  David  good-humouredly ; 
"she  is  not  going  there  again,  I  tell  you. 
Come  here  and  ssit  down,  and  tell  us  what 
you  think  ought  to  L>e  done  about  such  a 
case." 

"  The  city  ought  to  manage  it,"  said  Nor 
ton  grumly,  sitting  down  however. 

"  How  shall  we  get  the  city  to  manage  it  ?  " 

"I  don't  know.  Davy  Bartholomew! 
you'll  never  make  me  understand  that  it  is 

our  business  to  look   up   all  the  people  that 
23 


354  TllMUXQ. 

want  something  or  other  and  give  them  all 
they  want  until  our  own  hands  are  empty." 

"  You  are  dealing  in  generals,"  said  Da 
vid  smiling.  "  Come  back  to  the  particular 
case.  What  onijht  we  to  do  about  this  ?  " 

"  How  carne  you  to  know  of  it?  " 

"  We  were  told." 

"  Well  —  there  must  be  poor  people  in  the 
world,"  said  Norton  ;  u  there  always  were  and 
there  always  will  be." 

"  I  suppose  so.  And  the  question  is,  what 
ought  we  to  do  for  them  ?  " 

"  You  can't  do  much,"  said  Norton.  "  You 
can  make  yourself  poor,  easy  enough.  Then 
you'll  expect  Judy  and  me  to  take  care  of 
you." 

"Are  you  afraid  of  that,  Norton?"  said 
Matilda  laughingly. 

"  No,  Pink,  I  am  not,"  said  Norton;  "  but 
you  and  Davy  are  just  in  the  way  to  get  into 
trouble.  There's  no  bottom  to  New  York 
mud." 

"  Norton,"    said    David,    ;;  will    you   grant 


TRADING.  355 

that    we    ought    to  do  in  this  matter  as  the 
word  of  God  says  ?  " 

"  It  don't  say  we  are  to  make  fools  of  our 
selves,"  Norton  responded. 

"  Yes  it  does,"  said  Matilda  quickly.  Both 
her  hearers  looked  at  her. 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Norton. 

"  Where?"  asked  David. 

"  I  can't  tell,  —  but  I  know  it's  there.  If  I 
had  that  little  reference  Bible,  Davy ;  —  it's 
up  in  your  room  —  " 

"  Yes,  I  can  get  it,"  said  David  ;  "  but 
wouldn't  a  Concordance  be  better  for  you  ? 
I'll  fetch  one." 

"  What  are  you  talking  about,  children  ?  " 
said  Mrs.  Bartholomew,  as  David  went  out 
of  the  room. 

"  We  have  got  into  a  knot,  aunt  Judith," 
said  Norton.  "Don't  you  get  in,  or  we  shall 
never  get  out." 

"  Do  get  in,  mamma,"  urged  Judy,  "  or 
David  will  be  tied  up.  Matilda  holding  one 
end  of  the  string,  and  Norton  the  other,  be 
tween  them  they'll  fix  him." 


356  TRADING. 

"  David  is  able  to  cut  his  own  knots,  or 
other  people's,"  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew 
coolly.  "  What  is  all  this  about,  David  ?  " 

David  had  come  back  in  a  minute  with 
the  Concordance,  which  he  handed  to  Ma 
tilda.  "  It's  a  question  of  Scripture,  mam 
ma,"  he  answered.  Mrs.  Bartholomew  said 
"  Oh  ! "  —  and  turned  away.  But  Mrs.  Lloyd 
watched  the  group.  Matilda  was  earnestly 
searching  in  the  pages  of  the  Concordance; 
David  sat  waiting,  with  a  little  curiosity; 
Norton  with  impatient  defiance.  Matilda  was 
busy  for  some  minutes  with  one  page  and 
another;  then,  "Here  it  is!"  she  said;  and 
looked  up.  She  saw  that  Mrs.  Lloyd's  at 
tention  was  fixed,  and  that  Mrs.  Laval  also 
was  listening.  She  glanced  at  Norton,  then 
met  David's  eyes ;  and  then  bent  her  head 
over  her  book  and  read. 

"  '  Let  no  man  deceive  himself.  If  any 
man  among  you  seemeth  to  be  wise  in  this 
world,  let  him  become  a  fool,  that  he  may 
be  wise.  For  the  wisdom  of  this  world  is 


TEAD1NO.  357 

foolishness  with  God.'  And  then  again  in 
the  next  chapter  — '  We  are  fools  for  Christ's 
sake.'  " 

How  would  her  various  hearers  take  the 
words  ?  She  would  not  look  up  to  see. 

"  I  am  content,"  said  David. 

"  With  what,  Davy  my  dear  ?  "  asked  his 
aunt. 

"  Content  to  be  a  fool  for  Christ's  sake, 
aunt  Zara." 

"  Is  there  any  necessity  ? "  she  asked 
gently. 

"  Seems  so,"  said  David  smiling.  "  At 
least,  it  seems  that  one  must  be  judged  so, 
aunt  Zara." 

"  Can't  it  be  avoided  by  judicious  action, 
Davy  ?  " 

"  Come  and  see,  aunt  Zara.  Draw  up 
here  and  join  our  consultation,"  said  the  boy, 
with  a  certain  sweet  gracefulness  which  won 
her  to  do  just  what  he  asked.  She  took  a 
chair  nearer  the  group. 

"  The    question    is,    aunt    Zara,   what    we 


358  TRADING. 

ought  to  do  for  certain  poor  creatures  that 
we  know  of." 

"Not  for  them"  burst  in  Norton,  inter 
rupting,  "  but  for  all  the  rest.  There  is  no 
end  to  the  poor  creatures!  7  say,  begin  as 
you  are  to  go  on." 

"We  must  take  things  as  we  find  them," 
said  David.  "  There  is  no  end  to  the  poor 
creatures  ;  so  the  question  is  a  big  one." 

"  What  is  the  question  ?  "  said  Mrs.  La 
val. 

In  answer  to  which,  David  told  the 
story  of  Mrs.  Binn  and  Josh. 

"  There  are  hundreds  of  such  people !  " 
said  Norton. 

"  Aunt  Zara,"  said  David,  "  I  wanted  Nor 
ton  to  agree  to  submit  the  question  to  the 
Bible.  Isn't  that  fair?" 

"  Ye-s,"  said  Mrs.  Laval  cautiously;  "I 
suppose  it  is.  But,  my  dear  Davy,  we 
shouldn't  do  anything  extravagant  ;  the  Bible 
does  not  require  that." 

"  Shall  we  see  what  it  does  require  ?  " 


TRADING.  359 

"  Yes  ;  go  on,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  Let  us 
hear  what  you  children  can  find  about  it." 

"  Among  my  people  it  was  the  law,"  — 
David  began,  but  his  utterance  of  the  words 
"  my  people  "  was  no  longer  lofty ;  rather 
tender  and  subdued;  —  "it  was  the  law, 
*  When  thou  dost  complete  to  tithe  ah1  the 
tithe  of  thine  increase  in  the  third  year,  the 
year  of  the  tithe,  then  thou  hast  given  it  to 
the  Levite,  to  the  sojourner,  to  the  fatherless, 
and  to  the  widow,  and  they  have  eaten 
within  thy  gates  and  been  satisfied ; '  and  in 
the  feast  of  booths,  the  feast  of  ingathering, 
the  sojourner,  the  fatherless  and  the  widow 
were  to  share  in  the  rejoicing." 

"  The  tithe  is  the  tenth,"  remarked  Mrs. 
Laval. 

"  We  always  give  to  all  the  charitable 
societies,"  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew ;  "  al 
ways." 

"  Read,  Matilda,"  said  David.  "  I  see  you 
are  ready."  And  Matilda  read. 

" '  Therefore     all     things     whatsoever    ye 


TRADING. 

would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them ;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the 
prophets.' ': 

"  But,  my  dear  boy !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Bar 
tholomew. 

"  What,  mamma  ?  " 

"  You  don't  mean,  you  cannot  mean,  that 
you  want  to  act  that  out  to  the  letter  ?  " 

"  What  does  it  mean,  mamma  ?  " 

"  I  always  thought  it  meant  that  we  should 
be  considerate  of  other  people's  feelings," 
said  Mrs.  Laval ;  "  kind  and  thoughtful." 

"But  the  words  are  very  plain,"  said 
David. 

"  And  you  think  really  that  we  ought  to 
give  to  everybody  else  the  things  we  want 
for  ourselves  ?  " 

"  Not  that  exactly,  aunt  Zara ;  only  to  give 
them  what  we  would  like  to  have  given  if 
we  were  in  their  place ;  I  mean,  what  we 
would  have  a  right  to  like  to  have  given,  if 
we  were  in  their  place." 

"  According   to   that,  you  would   carry  to 


TRADING.  361 

that  sick  child   everything  that    Norton   and 
Matilda  had  when  they  were  sick." 

"  Such  as  ?  "  —  inquired  David. 

"  Fruit,  and  oysters,  and  flowers,  and  tea 
at  three  dollars  a  pound." 

"  Tea  at  three  dollars  a  pound  would  be 
*ost  upon  him,  for  he  would  not  know  the 
difference  between  that  and  —  I  suppose 
—  lower  priced  tea.  What  can  you  get  good 
tea  for,  aunt  Zara  ?  " 

"  Tea  good  for  him,  —  for  a  dollar,  and 
twelve  shillings." 

"  Tea  good  for  anybody,"  said  Mrs. 
Lloyd.  "  I  have  had  it  good  enough  for 
anybody,  for  a  dollar  fifty  ?  " 

"  The  other  things,"  said  David,  returning 
to  his  aunt,  "  why  shouldn't  he  have  them,  as 
well  as  we,  aunt  Zara?  " 

Mrs.  Laval  was  dumb,  I  suppose  with 
astonishment  as  well  as  the  inconvenience  of 
finding  an  answer ;  and  before  anybody  else 
began  again,  Matilda's  soft  voice  gave  forth 
another  verse. 


362  TRADING. 

"'  Blessed  is  he  that  eonsidere'h  the  poor; 
the  Lord  will  deliver  him  in  time  of  trou 
ble.'  " 

"  Of  course,"  said  Mrs.  Laval ;  "  we  do  con 
sider  the  poor." 

"  Let  the  child  go  on,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd. 
"  I  want  to  hear  all  she  has  to  bring." 

Matilda  went  on  with  Job's  declaration. 

"  *  If  I  have  withheld  the  poor  from  their 
desire,  or  have  caused  the  eyes  of  the  widow 
to  fail ;  or  have  eaten  my  morsel  myself  alone, 
and  the  fatherless  hath  not  eaten  thereof ;  (for 
from  my  youth  he  was  brought  up  with  me, 
as  with  a  father,  and  I  have  guided  her  from 
my  mother's  womb ; )  if  I  have  seen  any 
perish  for  lack  of  clothing,  or  any  poor  with 
out  covering  ;  if  his  loins  have  not  blessed 
me,  and  if  he  were  not  warmed  with  the 
fleece  of  my  sheep  ;  if  I  have  lifted  up  my 
hand  against  the  fatherless,  when  I  saw  my 
help  in  the  gate:  then  let  mine  arm  fall  from 
my  shoulder  blade,  and  mine  arm  be  broken 
from  the  bone.'  " 


TRADING.  363 

"  Who  said  that  ? "  demanded  Mrs.  Bar 
tholomew. 

«  Job." 

"  I  don't  see  what  he  has  to  do  with  us," 
said  the  lady,  moving  her  rosetted  slipper  im 
patiently,  and  so  making  a  soft  little  rustle 
with  the  lilac  ruffles  of  her  silk  skirt. 

"  The  old  fellow  had  no  business  to  swear, 
anyhow,"  said  Norton. 

"Swear!"  said  Judy. 

"  Something  very  like  it,"  said  Norton. 

"  Go  on,  Matilda,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd,  —  "if 
you  have  anything  more." 

"  Yes,  grandmamma." 

"  What  is  David  trying  to  prove  ?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Laval. 

"  We  are  only  trying  to  find  out  what  the 
word  of  the  Lord  would  make  us  do,  aunt 
Zara." 

The  two  younger  ladies  looked  annoyed  ; 
however  silence  was  restored,  and  Matilda 
began  again. 

" '  He  that  despiseth  his  neighbour  sinneth  ; 


364  TRADING. 

but  he  that  hath  mercy  on  the  poor,  happy 
is  he.'  " 

"  Do  we  despise  anybody  ?  "  Mrs.  Bar 
tholomew  asked.  No  one  answered  at  first. 

"  /do,"  said  Judy.     "Just  two  or  three." 

"  '  He  that  hath  pity  upon  the  poor  lendeth 
unto  the  Lord  ;  and  that  which  he  hath  given 
will  he  pay  him  again."3 

"  You  see,"  said  David,  "  the  Lord  reck 
ons  it  his  own  affair.  These  are  Messiah's 
poor  people  ;  we  are  his  stewards." 

"  How  much  are  you  going  to  give  them, 
on  that  principle  ?  "  his  mother  inquired. 

"  I  don't  know,  mamma." 

"  But  speak !  "  she  said  impatiently.  "  You 
do  know  what  you  mean  to  do ;  you  have  it 
all  mapped  out  already  in  your  head,  I 
know." 

"  I  don't  know  how  much  I  shall  give, 
mamma.  Whatever  I  think  they  want  more 
than  I  do." 

"  You  might  wear  homespun,  and  eat 
bread  and  water,  at  that  rate." 


TRADING.  365 

"  Mamma,"  said  Judy,  "  we  are  very 
wicked  to  wear  silk  dresses.  And  just 
think  of  your  lace  shawl,  mamma!  And 
grandma's." 

Matilda  waited,  and  when  nobody  carried 
on  the  talk  and  the  silence  waited  for  her,  she 
went  on  with  Isaiah's  beautiful  words. 

" '  Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen  ? 
to  loose  the  bands  of  wickedness,  to  undo 
the  heavy  burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed 
go  free,  and  that  ye  break  every  yoke  ?  Is  it 
not  to  deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  that 
thou  bring  the  poor  that  are  cast  out  to  thy 
house  ?  when  thou  seest  the  naked,  that  thou 
cover  him;  and  that  thou  hide  not  thyself 
from  thine  own  flesh  ? ' ' 

"  What  is  '  loosing  the  bands  of  wicked 
ness  '  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Lloyd. 

"  Now-a-days,  grandmamma,  I  should  say 
it  was  breaking  up  the  killing  rents  and  starv 
ing  wages,  and  the  whole  system  of  tenement 
houses;  for  one  thing." 

"  Why  what  do  you  know  about  it,  Davy, 
boy  ?  " 


366  TRADING. 

"  Not  very  much,  ma'am  ;  but  I  have  seen  a 
little,  and  the  doctor  I  went  for  told  me  a 
good  deal." 

"  Davy's  growing  elegant  in  his  speech,  as 
well  as  modest,"  said  his  sister.  "  He  has 
1  heard  a  good  deal,'  but  he  ;  don't  know 
much.'  O  Davy,  why  don't  you  make  better 
use  of  your  opportunities!"- 

"  Very  unprofitable  opportunities,  I  must 
say,"  remarked  his  mother.  "  I  have  no  idea 
that  such  a  boy  has  any  business  with  them, 
or  anything  to  do  in  such  places.  And  what 
does  he  know  about  wages  and  systems  of 
business  ?  " 

"  Go  on,  Matilda,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  I 
am  afniid,  my  dear,  David  is  right  I  have 
heard  the  same  things  from  others.  Go  on, 
Matilda." 

"  '  Then  said  he  also  to  him  that  bade  him, 
When  thou  makest  a  dinner  or  a  supper,  call 
not  thy  friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  neither  thy 
kinsmen,  nor  thy  rich  neighbours;  lest  they 
also  bid  thee  again,  and  a  recompense  be 


TRADING.  307 

made  thee.  But  when  thou  makest  a  feast, 
call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind  : 
and  thou  shalt  be  blessed ;  for  they  cannot 
recompense  thee  :  for  thou  shalt  be  recom 
pensed  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just.'  " 

Matilda  read  these  words,  with  a  quick 
remembrance  of  the  time  when  she  had  read 
them  in  the  company  of  her  two  little  school 
mates,  and  the  discussion  that  had  ensued 
thereupon ;  curious  what  their  reception 
would  be  now.  It  was  stormy. 

"  The  idea  !  "  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew. 

"  That  would  make  a  finish  of  society  at 
once,"  said  Mrs.  Laval. 

"But  what  do  the  words  mean?"  asked 
Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  There  they  are.  They  must 
mean  something." 

"  Something  !  "  echoed  Mrs.  Bartholomew. 
"  Just  imagine,  that  we  are  to  gather  in  a  com 
pany  of  cripples  round  our  dinner  table! 
Send  out  and  ask  all  the  forlorn  creatures 
we  can  find,  and  feed  them  on  game  and 
sweetbreads.  It  looks  like  it !  " 


368  TRADING. 

"  And  give  up  entertaining  our  friends," 
added  Mrs.  Laval. 

"  What  friends  do  we  entertain,  aunt 
Zara  ?  "  David  asked.  "  You  do  not  care 
much  for  most  of  them." 

"  You  are  a  ridiculous,  absurd,  fanatical 
boy !  "  said  Judy.  "  What  nonsense  you  do 
talk/' 

"  Nonsense  that  would  make  an  end  of 
all  civilization,"  said  Mrs.  Laval;  not  quite 
logically. 

"  But  do  you  care  much  for  these  people 
you  invite  ?  "  David  persisted. 

"Not  singly,"  Mrs.  Laval  admitted;  "but 
taken  together,  I  care  a  great  deal.  At 
least  they  are  people  of  our  own  rank  and 
standing  in  society,  and  we  can  understand 
what  they  talk  about." 

"  But  what  do  the  words  mean  ? "  Mrs. 
Lloyd  asked. 

"  Why  mother,"  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew, 
"you  have  read  them  a  thousand  times. 
They  mean  what  they  always  did." 


TEADINO.  369 

"  I  don't  think  I  ever  raised  the  question 
till  this  minute,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  In  fact, 
I  don't  think  I  knew  the  words  were  there. 
And  I  should  like  to  know  now  what  they 
mean." 

"  Grandmother,"  said  David,  "  isn't  it 
safe  to  conclude  they  mean  just  what  they 
say  ?  " 

"  Then  we  should  never  ask  anybody  to 
dinner  !  "  cried  his  mother. 

"  And  we  should  never  have  a  party  again," 
said  Judy. 

"  Society  would  be  at  an  end,"  said  Mrs. 
Laval. 

"  And  we  should  fill  our  house  with  horrid 
wretches,"  cried  Judy,  "  and  have  to  take  up 
our  carpets  and  clean  house  every  time." 

David  was  silent  while  these  various  char 
ges  were  eagerly  poured  out.  Norton  looked 
at  him  a  little  scornfully ;  Matilda  anxiously; 
but  he  was  only  sorrowfully  quiet,  till  his 
grandmother  turned  to  him  with  her  question. 

"  What  would  you  do,  Davy  ?  " 
24 


370  TRADING. 

"  He'd  do  anything  absurd  and  ridicu 
lous,"  s;iid  Judy  ;  "  the  more  the  better.  He 
is  just  fit  for  it.  What's  the  use  of  asking 
him,  grandma?  " 

"  I  would  like  to  hear,  my  dear,  if  you  will 
let  him  speak.  I  would  like  to  know  what 
the  words  say  to  you,  Davy." 

"  Grandmother,"  said  David  thoughtfully, 
"  it  seems  to  me  the  words  forbid  that  we 
should  ask  people  just  that  they  may  ask 
us  ;  —  or  do  anything  of  that  sort." 

"  But  society  would  fall  to  pieces,"  said 
Mrs.  Bartholomew. 

"  I  never  heard  of  the  strictest  Christians 
refusing  to  do  polite  things  in  that  way,  when 
they  can,"  added  Mrs.  Laval. 

"  But  what  do  the  words  say  ?  "  David 
answered.  "  And  then,  I  think,  the  Lord 
meant  to  forbid  our  making  expensive  enter 
tainments  for  anybody,  except  those  who  can't 
give  us  the  same  again." 

"  Then  we  may  ask  our  friends,"  said 
Judy,  "  only  we  mustn't  give  them  anything 


TEADING.  371 

to  eat.  And  of  course  no  wine  to  drink.  I 
wonder  if  we  might  light  the  gas  ?  It  is 
expensive,  when  you  burn  enough  of  it. 
Such  meanness  ! "  exclaimed  Judy  with  con 
centrated  scorn. 

"  You  would  put  an  end  to  society,"  re 
peated  Mrs.  Laval. 

"  What  would  be  the  use  of  having  a  fine 
house  and  large  rooms  and  beautiful  things," 
asked  her  sister,  "  if  nobody  was  to  see  them?  " 

David  cast  his  eyes  round  the  room  where 
they  were,  and  smiled  a  little. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  his  mother 
sharply. 

"  I  was  thinking,  mamma,"  said  David ; 
"  I  couldn't  help  thinking." 

"  Go  on,  David,"  Mrs.  Lloyd  said. 

"  Well,  grandmamma,  if  one  took  the 
money  to  give  poor  people  a  good  time,  it 
would  not  be  necessary  at  all,  as  Judy  sup 
posed,  to  have  them  brought  into  our  dining 
room." 

"  But  don't  you  think  people  are  meant  to 


372  TRADING. 

be  sociable,  and  see  their  friends  ?  We  are 
not  intended  to  live  alone." 

"  Surely  not,"  said  Mrs.  Laval. 

"  Grandmamma,  and  aunt  Zara,"  said  the 
boy,  "  I  believe  I  would  like  to  look  after 
Messiah's  friends  first ;  and  then  do  what  I 
pleased  with  my  own." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  all  those  low,  misera 
ble  people  are  His  friends  ?  "  cried  Mrs.  Bar 
tholomew. 

"  He  is  their  friend,  mamma ;  it  comes  to 
the  same  thing ;  and  some  of  them  are  his 
very  own  ;  and  he  has  given  us  the  charge 
to  take  care  of  them.  And  his  words  seem 
to  me  very  plain." 

"  He's  a  ruined  boy,  mamma ! "  said 
Judy. 

"  I  hope  he'll  grow  out  of  it,"  said  his 
mother. 

"  May  I  read  one  place  more,  grand 
mamma  ?  "  Matilda  asked. 

"  T  hope  it's  the  last,"  said  Mrs.  Bartholo 
mew. 


TRADING.  373 

"  I  like  to  hear  them,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd. 
"  Read,  Matilda." 

Matilda  read,  her  voice  trembling  a  little. 

" '  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on 
his  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  for  I  was 
a  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  rne  drink  ;  I  was  a  stran 
ger,  and  ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed 
rne ;  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me ;  I  was 
in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me.  Then  shall 
the  righteous  answer  him,  saying,  Lord, 
when  saw  we  thee  a  hungered,  and  fed  thee  ? 
or  thirsty,  and  gave  thee  drink  ?  When  saw 
we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  ?  or 
naked,  and  clothed  thee?  or  when  saw  we 
thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee  ? 

" '  And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto 
them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these 
my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me.'  " 

There  was    no  remark   made  by  anybody 


374  TRADING. 

following  upon  this  reading.  The  circle 
broke  up.  With  dissatisfied  faces  the  ladies 
and  Judy  and  Norton  withdrew  their  several 
ways.  David  presently  went  off  too.  but 
Matilda  had  noticed  that  his  face  was  as 
serene  as  summer  moonlight.  She  was  gath 
ering  up  her  books  to  go  too  like  all  the  rest, 
when  to  her  great  surprise  Mrs.  Lloyd  came 
beside  her  and  drawing  her  into  her  arms 
bestowed  an  earnest  kiss  upon  her  uplifted 
wondering  face.  Then  they  both  went 
silently  upstairs. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

r  I  ^HE  peace  of  the  house  was  gone.  Not, 
indeed,  that  quarrelling  took  its  place; 
there  was  no  quarrelling ;  only  an  uncomfort 
able  feeling  in  the  air,  and  looks  that  were  no 
longer  pleased  and  pleasant.  Mrs.  Bartholo 
mew  wore  a  discontented  face,  and  behaved 
so.  Judy  was  snappish ;  not  a  new  thing 
exactly,  but  it  was  invariable  now.  David 
was  very  quiet  and  very  sober;  however  in 
his  case  the  quiet  was  quiet,  and  the  sober 
ness  was  very  serene ;  all  the  old  gloom 
seemed  to  be  gone.  Norton,  Matilda  thought, 
was  cross ;  and  she  failed  to  see  the  occasion. 
Even  Mrs.  Laval  looked  uncomfortable  some 
times,  and  once  remarked  to  Matilda  that  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  get  back  to  Shadywalk. 
And  Matilda  loved  Shadywalk  and  Briery 


376  TRADING. 

Bank,  but  she  was  not  ready  with  a  respon.^ •. 
She  tried  to  be  very  busy  with  her  studies, 
and  hoped  that  things  would  work-  clear  by 
and  by.  Once  she  had  the  curiosity  to  ask 
Norton  how  David  was  getting  on  at  school  ? 

"  Well  enough,"  Norton  answered  shortly. 

"  Do  the  boys  like  him  better?  " 

"Better  than  what?" 

"  Why,  better  than  they  used  to?" 

"  I  don't  know.     1  don't/' 

"  Why  not,  Norton  ?     O  why  don't  you  ?  " 

"  No  accounting  for  tastes,"  Norton  replied, 
rather  grumly. 

"  Does  David  study  well  ?  " 

"  Yes.     He  always  did." 

Norton  might  have  said  that  David  was 
walking  into  everything  and  through  every- 
thing;  but  he  did  not  say  anything  of  the 
kind.  And  sundry  other  questions  that  trem 
bled  on  the  tip  of  Matilda's  tongue,  only 
trembled  there,  and  never  got  any  further. 
.  Meanwhile  Mrs.  Binn  was  not  forgotten. 

"  It's  worth  anything,"  David  said  to  Ma- 


TRADING.  377 

tilda  one  day  that  week,  "  to  see  the  fellow  eat 
strawberries." 

"  Strawberries !  O  did  you  take  strawberries 
to  him  ! "  cried  Matilda.  "  And  he  liked 
them?" 

"  You  could  almost  see  the  red  of  the  straw 
berries  getting  up  into  his  cheeks.  He's  not 
quite  so  far  as  that,  though.  Like  them  !  He 
raised  himself  half  up  and  lay  on  his  elbow 
to  eat  them.  Think  of  that!  You  should 
have  seen  the  fellow.  Spoons  were  no  go. 
He  just  forked  them  in  with  his  fingers." 

"  Does  he  lie  in  the  entry  yet,  David  ?  " 

"  No.  His  mother  has  got  him  into  her 
bit  of  a  room,  and  the  wash  tub  is  where  he 
was.  I  do  think  we  might  get  him  into  the 
country  next  week,  if  there  was  any  place  he 
could  go  to.  He's  like  another  boy,  with  a 
bed  under  him  and  clean  things  and  food  that 
he  can  eat.  I  do  believe  he  was  starving  to 
death.  Sick  folks  can't  get  along  on  dry 
crusts,  or  even  mush  —  plain,  without  butter 
or  molasses,"  said  David  smiling. 


378  TRADING. 

"David,  I  have  thought  of  something." 

"  What  is  it  ?  Something  to  help  us  out 
of  the  difficulty  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  See  what  you  think.  You 
heard  Miss  Redwood  and  me  talking  of  Lilac 
lane,  and  people  that  live  in  it?" 

"  I  heard  nothing  of  Lilac  lane  ;  never  did, 
till  this  minute." 

"O  you  were  in  the  study  with  Mr.  Rich 
mond.  It  is  a  place  in  Shadywalk  where 
some  very  poor  people  live." 

"  Well  ?  "  said  David. 

"  But  it  is  a  delightful  place  compared  to 
Mrs.  Binn's  tenement  house.  I  know  some 
of  the  people  there,  and  Miss  Redwood  knows 
more;  and  I  was  thinking,  perhaps  she  could 
find  a  house  where  they  would  take  Josh  in 
and  take  care  of  him  till  he  gets  well.  Miss 
Redwood  could  see  to  him  a  little,  you 
know." 

"Why  it's  a  capital  idea,  Tilly!"  cried 
David.  "  Did  you  write  and  ask  her  ?  " 

"  No,  but  I  will." 


TRADING  379 

"  Do,  to-day.  That's  just  what  he  wants. 
"Write,  Tilly.  I  must  be  off  to  my  work." 

Nothing  stopped  David's  work,  in  these 
days ;  indeed  he  never  had  been  given  to 
playing  truant.  Matilda  pondered  the  matter 
a  little,  and  then  wrote  a  letter  to  Miss  Red 
wood  ;  upon  which  letter,  when  it  reached 
Shadywalk,  the  housekeeper  and  the  minister 
held  consultation.  The  end  was,  that  after  a 
week  Matilda  got  an  answer  which  said  that 
the  poor  family  opposite  Matilda's  old  Sally 
in  Lilac  lane,  the  same  from  whom  she  had 
borrowed  the  teakettle  once  upon  a  time,  had 
room  to  spare  and  would  gladly  take  the  sick 
child  in  and  take  care  of  him,  for  the  com 
pensation  which  would  be  offered.  Miss  Red 
wood  also  engaged  herself  to  see  that  proper 
care  was  had  and  proper  food  given ;  and  in 
short  the  way  was  clear. 

"  That  will  do,"  said  David  when  he  had 
read  the  letter.  "  Now,  the  thing  is  to  get 
him  up  there." 

"  Is  Mrs.  Binn  willing  ?  " 


380  TRADING. 

"  She  is  one  of  the  willingest  persons  you 
ever  saw  in  your  life." 

"  Well,  how  will  you  manage,  David  ?  " 

"  I  don't  see  any  way  but  to  go  myself." 

"  Go  up  to  Shadywalk,  you  mean,  to  take 
the  child  there?" 

«  Yes." 

"  O,  David,  would  you !     And  could  you?" 

"  I  don't  see  any  other  way." 

"  But  school  ?  will  you  miss  a  day  ?  " 

"  Can't  do  that ;  and  can't  even  give  Satur 
day,  so  near  the  end  of  term.  I'll  manage  it." 

«  How,  David  ?  " 

"  Go  up  after  school  some  day,  and  take  a 
night  train  down." 

"  Is  Josh  —  I  mean,  has  he  any  clothes  fit 
to  travel  in  ?  " 

"  He  has  not  any  fit  to  sit  up  in  at  home. 
Never  mind,  I'll  manage  that,  Tilly." 

"  David,  you  tell  me  some  of  the  things  he 
wants,  and  I'll  get  Sarah  Staples  and  her 
mother  to  make  them." 

"Well.  — But   I'll   pay   charges,   Tilly;    I 


TRADING.  381 

don't  believe  you've  got  much  in  that  little 
pocket  of  yours." 

This  consultation  was  private ;  and  in  pri 
vate  the  new  clothes  for  Joshua  Binn  were 
procured  and  got  ready  ;  very  plain  and  coarse 
clothes,  for  David  and  Matilda  were  learning 
how  much  there  was  to  do  with  their  money. 
All  this  caused  no  remark,  not  being  open  to 
it.  But  when  David  took  little  Josh,  wrapped 
up  in  an  old  cloak  of  his,  and  drove  with  him 
in  a  carriage  to  the  station,  and  took  the  cars 
with  him  to  Shadywalk,  there  was  a  general 
outcry  and  burst  of  astonishment  and  indig 
nation.  David  was  at  breakfast  the  next 
morning  as  usual;  and  the  storm  fell  upon  him. 

"  I  wonder  how  you  feel  this  morning,"  said 
his  grandmother,  half  in  displeasure  and  half 
in  sympathy;  for  David  was  a  favourite. 

"  After  travelling  all  night,"  added  Mrs. 
Laval. 

"  Up  to  study,  Davy  ?  "    asked  Norton. 

"  I  am  so  astonished  at  you,  David,  that  I 
do  not  know  how  to  speak,"  began  his  mother. 


32  TRADING. 

"  Ton  —  always  until  now  a  refined,  gentle 
manly  boy,  —  you  to  turn  yourself  into  a  head 
hospital  nurse,  and  Poor  Society  agent!  trav 
elling  in  company  with  the  lowest  riff-raff!  I 
don't  know  what  to  make  of  you.  Really,  I 
am  in  despair." 

"  He  always  was  a  poke,"  said  Judy  ;  "  and 
now  he's  a  poor  poke." 

"  It  is  too  bad ! "  echoed  Mrs.  Laval ; 
"  though  that  isn't  true,  Judy." 

"  He's  a  spoiled  boy,"  said  Judy.  "  I  wash 
my  hands  of  him.  I  hope  he'll  wash  his 
hands." 

"  The  idea!  "  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew.  «  As 
if  there  was  nobody  else  in  the  world  to  look 
after  sick  children,  but  Davy  must  leave  his 
own  business  and  go  nursing  them  in  the 
cars !  I  wouldn't  have  had  anybody  see  him 
for  a  thousand  dollars." 

"  What  harm,  mamma  ?  "  asked  David 
coolly. 

"  Harm  ?  "  repeated  Mrs.  Bartholomew. 
a  Is  it  your  business  to  take  all  sick  New  York 


TRADING.  383 

and  all  poor  New  York  on  your  hands,  and 
send  them  to  watering  places  ?  " 

"  One  poor  little  child  ?  "  said  David. 

"  No  matter;  what's  the  use  of  sending  one, 
if  you  don't  send  the  other  hundred  thou 
sand  ?  Is  it  your  business,  David  Bartholo 
mew  ?  " 

"  Hardly,  mamma.  But  I  thought  the  one 
was  my  business." 

"  There  you  were  mistaken.  There  are  two 
or  three  poor  societies ;  it  is  for  them  to  look 
after  these  cases.  What  is  the  use  of  hav 
ing  poor  societies,  if  we  are  to  do  the  work 
ourselves  ?  So  low !  so  undignified !  so 
degrading!  just  ask  any  minister,  —  ask  Dr. 
Blandford,  —  what  he  thinks." 

"  David  don't  care,  mamma,"  said  Judy. 
*'  David  never  cares  what  anybody  thinks." 

"Very  wrong,  then,"  said  Mrs.  Bartholo 
mew  ;  "  every  right-feeling  person  cares  what 
other  people  think.  How  is  the  world  to  get 
along?  David,  I  don't  know  you  any  morej 
you  are  so  changed," 


384  TRADING. 

» 

"  Yes,  mamma,"  said  David  ;  "  perhaps  I 
am." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  ?    Why  my  patience !  "  — 

"  Your  patience  seems  to  have  given  out, 
daughter,"  said  Mrs.  Lloyd.  "  Come,  let 
Davy  eat  his  breakfast." 

"  He's  eating  it,"  said  Judy.  "  Nothing  will 
hurt  David's  appetite." 

"  I  should  think  nursing  poor  folks  out  of 
tenement  houses  might,"  observed  Mrs.  Bar 
tholomew.  "  It  would  once." 

"  I  can't  imagine,  mamma,"  said  Judy, 
"  how  we  are  going  to  live  together  in  future. 
David  isn't  our  sort  any  more.  Life  looks 
dark  to  me." 

"  If  it  was  anybody  but  David,"  said  Mrs. 
Bartholomew,  "  I  should  say  he  would  grow 
out  of  it.  Any  other  young  fool  would." 

"Grow  out  of  what,  mamma?"  David 
asked. 

"  Grow  out  of  the  notion  of  being  an  agent 
of  the  poor  societies.  It's  too  disgusting  !  " 

"  Mamma,"   he   said,  and   he  said  it  with 


TRADING.  385 

such  an  unruffled  face  that  Matilda  was  com 
forted,  "  the  poor  society  would  not  have 
done  what  I  did  last  night.  And  I  am  not 
doing  it  for  the  poor  societies,  but  for  the 
King  Messiah.  I  am  His  agent ;  that's  all." 

"  Where  did  you  get  your  commission  ? " 
Norton  asked. 

David  hesitated,  and  then  said,  "  Whatso 
ever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you  — " 

"  But  that's  absolute  nonsense !  "  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Bartholomew. 

"  What,  mamma?"  said  David,  lifting  his 
eyes  to  her  face. 

"  I  mean,  of  course,  the  words  are  not  non 
sense,  but  putting  such  a  meaning  to  them." 

"  What  meaning  do  you  think  belongs  to 
them,  then,  mamma  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Mrs.  Bartholomew  in  high 
dudgeon,  "  if  you  are  to  take  them  so,  then 
we  ought  to  send  our  carriage  to  take  poor 
people  to  drive,  and  we  ought  to  give  our 
grapes  and  our  wine  to  sick  people,  instead  of 
eating  them  ourselves ;  and  I  ought  to  sell  my 
25 


386  TRADING. 

diamonds  and  change  them  into  bread  and 
coffee  and  feather  beds,  I  suppose;  and  our 
silks  and  laces  ought  to  go  for  rents  and  firing 
for  those  who  are  in  want." 

«  Well,  mother?  "  said  David. 

«  Well ;  is  that  what  you  mean  ?  " 

"  That's  what  the  words  mean,  if  they  mean 
anything,  mamma.  I  think  the  King  wants  all 
we  have  got,  to  be  used  in  his  work ;  and  all 
mine  he  shall  have." 

There  was  no  braggadocio,  but  a  sweet 
steadfastness  in  the  words  and  manner  which 
impressed  all  his  hearers;  though  it  impressed 
them  differently. 

"  Mother,  what  do  you  think  of  him  ?  " 
Mrs.  Bartholomew  said,  apparently  in  de 
spair. 

"I  don't  know  what  to  think,  child,"  said 
the  old  lady.  "  I  am  puzzled." 

"  About  me,  grandmamma?  "  asked  David. 

"  No,  boy ;  I  never  was  puzzled  about  you, 
and  I  am  not  now." 

"  We'll  have  grandma  going  over  next!" 


TRADING.  387 

exclaimed  Judy,  "  and  then  —  What'll  be  then, 
mamma?  Will  this  be  a  hospital,  grand 
mamma  ?  I  shouldn't  like  to  live  here  in  that 
case,  because  of  the  fevers.  I  declare,  I'm 
very  sorry !  Will  David  be  the  doctor  or  the 
minister,  grandmamma  ?  " 

"  Hush,  Judy  !  "  said  her  mother.  "  Things 
are  bad  enough  without  you." 

"  There's  one  thing,  you  vexatious  boy," 
said  Judy ;  "  your  uncles  will  give  you  up." 

"  They  have  done  that  already,"  said  David 
quietly. 

"  Have  they?  O  have  they  really,  mamma? 
Then  they  won't  give  him  their  money  when 
they  die !  nor  me  neither.  You  hateful  fel 
low  !  to  go  and  make  me  poor  as  well  as 
yourself."  And  Judy  began  to  cry.  "  I 
thought  we'd  be  so  rich,  mamma!" 

"Do  hold  your  tongue,  Judy,"  said  her 
mother.  "  You've  got  enough,  and  David 
much  more  than  enough." 

But  with  this  the  uncomfortable  breakfast 
party  broke  up. 


388  TRADING. 

"  Matilda,"  said  Mrs.  Laval  when  they  had 
gone  upstairs,  —  "  I  don't  know  whether  you 
have  done  good  or  harm." 

"  She's  done  no  good,  mamma,'1  said  Nor 
ton.  "  Just  look  at  Davy.  And  I  can  tell  you, 
grandmamma  is  beginning  to  read  the  Bible 
to  herself;  I've  seen  her  at  it." 

"  But  I  haven't  done  anything,  mamma," 
said  Matilda. 

"  Well,  my  dear,  I  don't  know  who  has, 
then,"  Mrs.  Laval  replied. 

And  the  subject  was  dropped.  But  cer 
tainly  Mrs.  Lloyd  did  begin  after  that  to  ask 
Matilda  now  and  then,  when  they  were  alone, 
to  read  to  her;  and  Matilda  found  that  David 
did  it  constantly,  by  his  grandmother's  desire, 
in  her  own  room. 

The  weeks  were  few  now  to  the  time  when 
the  household  would  break  up;  Mrs.  Laval 
and  her  children  to  return  to  Briery  Bank, 
Mrs.  Bartholomew  and  hers  for  a  cottage  at 
Newport.  Mrs.  Lloyd  was  accustomed  to 
abide  generally  with  the  latter.  All  the  mem- 


TRADING.  389 

bers  of  the  family  were  busied  with  their  vari 
ous  preparations;  and  the  unsettled  feeling  of 
coming  change  was  upon  the  whole  household. 
Little  else  was  thought  of.  So  when  an  invita 
tion  came  from  the  mother  of  Esther  Francis, 
that  all  the  young  ones  should  join  a  party 
of  pleasure  that  were  going  to  spend  the  day 
in  Westchester,  it  was  a  very  unlocked  for 
variety  in  the  general  course  of  things.  Of 
course  they  would  go.  The  young  people 
were  to  eat  strawberries  and  do  everything 
else  that  was  pleasant,  at  General  Francis's 
place.  Mrs.  Francis  was  not  yet  ready  to 
leave  town  ;  there  was  nobody  in  possession 
but  the  servants ;  the  widest  liberty  would  be 
the  rule  of  the  day. 

"  How  nice  that  the  boys  are  out  of  school ! " 
said  Matilda.  "  Term  just  ended." 

"  Of  course.  Couldn't  have  the  party  with 
out  the  people,"  said  Judy. 

"  Will  there  be  a  great  many,  Norton  ? " 
Matilda  asked. 

"  Don't  know  anything  about  it.    You  musi 


390  TRADING. 

ask  somebody  else.  Esther  Francis  isn't  our 
cousin." 

"  How  dry  you  are,"  said  David.  "  I  know 
no  more  about  it,  Matilda,  than  he  does." 

"  Esther  said  there  would  be  twenty  or 
thirty,"  said  Judy.  "How  are  we  going? 
that's  what  I  want  to  know." 

"  Take  the  Harlem  railroad  to  the  station," 
said  Norton,  "  and  drive  the  rest.  That's  the 
way  you  always  go  to  General  Francis's. 
Mamma !  I'd  like  to  drive  Pink  out.  It's 
only  thirteen  miles." 

"  I'm  afraid,  Norton.  I  think  you  had  bet 
ter  all  go  together." 

Norton  grumbled  a  little;  however,  it  was 
good  enough  even  so. 

The  day  was  the  first  of  June ;  fresh  and 
sweet  as  the  first  of  June  should  be.  The 
four  were  in  the  cars  early ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  train  had  got  quit  of  the  city,  the  sights 
and  smells  of  the  country  roused  Matilda  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  delight.  Such  green 
fields !  such  blue  sky  !  such  delicious  air !  and 


TRADING.  •    391 

such  varieties  of  pleasant  objects  that  she  had 
not  seen  for  some  time!  The  rush  to  the  sta 
tion  was  one  whirl  of  pleasure ;  then  the 
pleasure  grew  greater,  for  they  got  into  a  car 
riage  to  drive  across  the  country.  Every  foot 
of  the  way,  though  it  was  not  through  a  very 
enchanting  landscape,  was  joyous  to  Matilda's 
vision ;  and  when  the  grounds  were  reached 
of  General  Francis's  villa,  there  was  nothing 
more  left  in  this  world  to  desire.  For  there 
were  plantations  of  trees,  extending  far  and 
wide,  with  roads  and  paths  cut  through  them; 
over  which  the  young  fresh  foJiage  cast  the 
sweetest  of  shadow.  There  were  meadows, 
broad  and  fair,  green  and  smooth,  with  a  little 
river  winding  along  in  them,  and  scattered 
trees  here  and  there  for  shade,  and  fringes  of 
willows  and  alders  to  the  sides  of  the  stream. 
And  at  a  little  distance  stood  the  large  old 
house,  with  groves  of  trees  encircling  it  and 
lawns  before  and  on  one  side  of  it;  and  on 
the  side  lawn,  in  the  edge  of  the  grove,  long 
tables  set  and  spread  with  damask. 


39 2  TRADING. 

"  Dinner  already  ?  "  queried  Norton.  "  I  am 
hungry  enough." 

"Dinner  at  ten  o'clock!"  cried  Judy. 
"  Breakfast,  you  mean." 

"  Esther,  is  it  breakfast  ?  "  asked  Norton,  as 
their  little  hostess  came  to  them. 

"  It  is  what  you  like,  Mr.  Laval,"  said  the 
little  lady ;  whose  pink  bows  were  not  more 
in  style  than  her  manners. 

"  Norton   is    hungry,   Esther,"    David    re 
marked. 

"  I  hope  you  are,  too." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  give  us,  Esther  ?  " 
said  Judy  eagerly.  "  We  are  all  like  bears. 
Strawberries?" 

"  We  must  wait  for  another  carriage.  The 
Grandsons  are  coming." 

"I  wouldn't  wait,"  said  Judy.  "What's 
the  use  ?  Ten  o'clock  is  late  enough  for 
breakfast." 

"  But  we  shall  not  have  the  collation  till 
three." 

"  What  have  you  got  for  breakfast  ?  " 


TRADING.  393 

«  Coffee." 

"  And  strawberries  ?  " 

"  Haven't  you  had  any  strawberries  this 
year  ?  » 

"  Lots ;  but  not  in  the  country,  you  know, 
where  they  grow." 

"  And  not  with  such  yellow  cream  as  we 
have  got  from  our  dairy." 

"  Will  you  have  cream  enough  for  all, 
Esther  ?  "  David  asked,  as  coming  round  the 
house  they  saw  a  small  crowd  of  young  peo 
ple  collected  near  the  tables.  Esther  smiled 
and  bridled,  and  then  there  was  no  more  pri 
vate  talk,  but  a  whole  chorus  of  greetings  and 
questions  and  answers.  And  then  another 
carriage  drew  up,  with  the  missing  Grand 
sons  ;  and  the  party  went  to  breakfast. 

It  seemed  to  Matilda  that  to  eat  under  the 
shadow  of  trees,  and  on  the  carpet  of  the  grass, 
and  with  the  music  of  leaves  and  insects  and 
breezes,  was  the  very  most  delightful  thing 
that  could  be  invented.  She  was  very  hun 
gry,  no  doubt;  and  Mrs.  Francis's  excellent 


394  TRADING. 

cook  had  made  capital  provision  for  her 
young  mistress;  but  besides  all  that,  how 
pretty  it  was!  The  light  flickered  through 
the  oak  leaves  upon  the  white  tablecloths,  and 
gleamed  from  china  and  glass  and  silver  in 
the  most  cheery  way ;  it  gleamed  upon  the 
little  river  too  and  upon  the  blades  of  grass 
on  the  lawn.  Out  there  the  sunshine  was 
full;  the  eye  went  across  to  the  scattered  trees 
and  to  the  further  woods  on  the  other  side ;  a 
great  promising  playground  it  looked.  And 
then  the  air  was  so  sweet  and  fresh.  Matilda 
was  not  seated  very  well  for  her  pleasure; 
nobody  near  that  she  knew  very  well ;  never 
theless  she  eat  her  strawberries  and  cream  and 
devoured  rolls  and  butter  with  a  contented 
appreciation  of  what  she  had,  and  an  amused 
observation  of  what  was  around  her. 

How  were  they  to  spend  the  day  ? 

This  question  received  earnest  attention  as 
soon  as  the  business  of  breakfast  was  off  their 
hands. 

"  Day  is  pretty  well   gone   already,"   said 


TEADING.  395 

Norton  consulting  his  watch.  "  It  is  twelve 
o'clock.  There  is  not  time  for  anything  else 
but  to  have  dinner  and  go  home." 

"  We  do  not  dine  till  four  o'clock,"  Esther 
announced. 

"  Four  hours,"  said  somebody.  "  Time 
enough  to  get  hungry  again.  I'll  take  any 
body  that  wants  to  go  a  row  on  the  river;  if 
somebody'll  help  me  row." 

"  Everybody  do  what  everybody  likes  until 
three  o'clock,'.'  said  Esther.  "  Suppose  then, 
at  three  o'clock,  we  all  gather  in  the  pavilion 
and  have  games  ?  " 

Unanimous  acceptance  of  this  proposal. 
Then  a  flutter  and  division  and  scattering  of 
the  little  crowd. 

Matilda  wondered  what  she  would  do,  or 
be  asked  to  do.  She  would  have  liked  the 
sail  on  the  Bronx ;  but  so  would  a  good  many 
more.  The  little  boat  was  very  soon  filled 
with  the  eager  applicants,  and  David  volun 
teered  to  help  row  it.  One  of  Matilda's 
friends  was  thus  removed  from  her.  She 


S96  TRADING. 

turned  to  look  for  Norton.  He  was  not  to  be 
seen.  A  general  stampede  of  the  boys  to  the 
stables  made  it  supposable  that  he  was  in 
the  midst  of  the  gay  little  group  rushing  that 
way.  Matilda  looked  around  her.  The  tables 
were  deserted ;  the  little  boat  had  disappeared 
up  the  stream ;  all  the  boys  were  gone ;  and 
one  or  two  groups  of  girls,  unknown  to  her, 
were  loitering  over  the  grass  towards  the 
house.  A  flush  of  vexation  and  embarrass 
ment  came  over  Matilda.  Was  this  civility  ? 
and  what  was  she  to  do  with  herself  for 
three  hours  to  come  ?  And  how  disagreeable, 
to  be  regarded  as  of  no  consequence  and  no 
concern  to  anybody.  Tears  swelled  in  their 
fountains,  but  Matilda  was  not  going  to  cry. 
She  would  not  linger  alone  by  the  table ;  she 
did  not  know  her  way  in  the  house,  and  be 
sides  would  not  seek  those  who  should  prop 
erly  seek  her ;  she  turned  her  steps  to  the 
little  river.  The  flowing  water  had  a  great 
charm  for  her;  the  bank  was  smooth  and 
green ;  she  wandered  along  till  she  came  to 


TRADING.  397 

what  she  called  a  nice  place,  where  a  young 
willow  hung  over  and  dipped  its  long  branches 
in,  and  the  bank  offered  a  soft  shady  seat. 
Matilda  sat  down,  and  felt  very  lonely.  But 
glimpses  taken  through  the  trees  and  shrub 
bery  shewed  her  nobody  near  or  far,  except 
the  servants ;  and  Matilda  resolved  to  be 
quiet  and  wait  for  better  things  by  and  by. 
She  looked  at  her  watch ;  it  was  half  past 
twelve.  I  am  bound  to  confess  it  was  a 
good  half  hour  more  before  Matilda  could  get 
the  better  of  a  desperate  fit  of  disappointment 
and  vexation.  She  had  not  counted  upon 
spending  her  holiday  in  this  manner;  and 
slights  and  unkindness  are  pleasant  to  nobody. 
There  is  something  in  use,  however,  and  more 
in  a  quiet  mind.  The  little  girl's  roiled  feel 
ings  at  last  ran  clear  again  ;  and  she  began  to 
enjoy  things  after  her  own  fashion. 

The  ripple  and  flow  of  that  water  was  cer 
tainly  delicious ;  it  made  one  cool  only  to 
hear  it.  She  could  get  down  to  the  brink  too 
and  cautiously  dip  her  hand  in.  There  were 


39$  TRADING. 

little  fishes  in  a  shallow  there  ;  their  play  and 
movement  were  very  amusing,  and  Matilda 
went  into  deep  speculation  about  how  much 
they  knew,  and  what  they  felt,  and  what  their 
manner  of  life  amounted  to,  and  how  they 
probably  regarded  the  strange  creature  look 
ing  down  at  them.  Very  much  she  wondered 
what  they  could  eat  to  live  upon.  The  water 
plants  that  grew  along  the  stream  had  Matil 
da's  attention  too,  and  the  mosses  that  covered 
the  stones.  And  one  or  two  grasshoppers 
finally  proved  a  great  source  of  entertainment. 
She  quite  forgot  to  feel  lonely,  and  was  tak 
ing  her  enjoyment  in  a  very  harmonious  way  ; 
when  she  heard  a  different  swash  of  the 
water  and  the  dip  of  oars,  and  the  boat  shot 
round  a  curve  and  came  down  the  stream. 
She  watched  it,  wondering  whether  its  crew 
would  see  her.  Just  opposite  her  willow  the 
oars  stopped. 

"  Is  that  you,  Tilly  ?  "  David  cried. 

A  small  "  yes"  came  from  the  bank. 

"  What  arc  you  doing  there  ?  " 


TBADING.  399 

"  O,  amusing  myself." 

"  Where  is  everybody  else  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  Where's  Norton  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  I  think  he  went  to  see  the 
horses." 

"  Come  down  to  the  landing,"  said  David 
after  a  moment's  pause. 

Matilda  nodded,  arid  the  boat  shot  forward 
again.  It  had  turns  to  take  following  the 
course  of  the  stream  ;  while  she  on  the  land 
could  cut  across  points,  and  she  reached  the 
landing  place  the  first. 

The  little  party  landed  with  cries  of  pleas 
ure,  and  the  next  thing,  set  off  on  a  run  for 
the  house.  David  purposely  hung  back,  so 
that  he  and  Matilda  in  a  few  minutes  were 
behind  all  the  others. 

"  Where  is  everybody  ?  "  inquired  David. 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  What  have  you  been  doing  all  this 
while  ?  " 

"  It  was  very   pretty   down  by  the  water, 


400  TRADING. 

David.     I  didn't  mind  ;  —  at  least,  not  after 
the  first.     It  was  very  pleasant  there." 

«  All  alone  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  except  the  fishes  and  the  grasshop 
pers." 

«  Well—  I  shall  cut  out  the  fishes  now." 

David  kept  his  word.  A  deputation  of  the 
boys  met  them  and  begged  him  to  go  where 
the  others  were  riding.  David  went,  but  kept 
hold  of  Matilda's  hand,  though  warned  that 
"the  girls  "  were  finding  other  amusements 
in  the  house.  Matilda  was  taken  into  the 
meadow  where  the  boys  and  the  horses  were 
congregated  ;  a  safe  seat  was  found  for  her 
on  the  wall,  from  whence  she  could  survey  the 
whole  field ;  and  though  David  took  his  share 
in  the  amusements  that  followed,  riding  and 
racing  with  the  other  boys,  he  never  let  her 
feel  herself  forgotten  or  alone;  stopping  his 
horse  every  now  and  then  in  front  of  her  to 
say  something  and  find  out  if  she  was  happy. 
Matilda  was  very  happy,  greatly  amused,  and 
intensely  pleased  that  David  had  constituted 


TRADING.  401 

himself  her  protector.  The  hours  sped  along; 
the  soft  June  sun  was  never  too  hot ;  the  little 
white  clouds  that  crossed  the  sky  cast  shadows 
not  needed  for  the  busy  pleasure  seekers,  nor 
even  for  the  quiet  spectator.  At  last  Matilda 
heard  a  shout  behind  her. 


CHAPTER     XV. 

"  T "\7HAT  are  you  doing,you  boyish  girl?" 
It  was  Judy,  at  the  head  of  the  whole 
bevy  of  young  ones  from  the  house. 

"  I  didn't  know  what  had  become  of  you, 
Matilda,"  said  Esther. 

"  Come  down  ! "  said  Judy.  "  What  busi 
ness  have  you  there?  Who  asked  you  to 
watch  the  boys  ?  Why  don't  you  come  down  ? 
On  the  wall,  too !  Esther  didn't  invite  you 
there." 

"  Esther  didn't  invite  me  anywhere,"  said 
Matilda,  with  the  old  inevitable  set  of  her 
head,  which  said  much  more  than  the  little 
girl  knew.  Esther  felt  it,  and  Judy  was  in 
censed. 

"  I  would  be  ashamed,  if  I  were  you,"  she 
said.  "  Tell  the  boys,  will  you,  that  we  are 


TRADING.  403 

ready  for  the  games.  Call  somebody.  Shout! 
now  you  are  up  there,  make  yourself  useful." 
Matilda  preferred  not  to  shout.  Instead  of 
that,  she  waved  her  handkerchief.  David 
rode  up,  the  message  was  given.  Then  Nor 
ton  came  to  help  Matilda  down  from  the 
wall ;  and  soon  the  whole  party  gathered  in 
the  pavilion.  This  was  rather  more  than  a 
summer  house ;  a  large  saloon,  with  windows 
and  glass  doors  on  all  sides,  furnished  with 
lounges  and  easy  chairs  and  tables,  with  a 
carpet  on  the  floor,  and  kept  with  all  the 
nicety  of  the  house  itself.  Warm  and  tired 
and  happy,  the  little  company  was  ready  for 
quiet  amusements ;  and  they  played  games 
of  various  kinds  until  the  gong  called  them  to 
dinner.  That  was  to  have  been  the  end  of 
the  day's  entertainment;  but  a  storm  had 
come  up  while  they  were  at  the  table,  and 
the  rain  fell  too  abundantly  to  let  anybody 
leave  the  house  except  those  who  could  go  in 
close  carriages.  A  few  were  thus  drafted  off, 
belonging  to  neighbouring  families  ;  a  goodly 


404  TRADING. 

little  company  still  remained  who  were  forced 
to  accept  the  housekeeper's  hospitalities  for 
the  night.  That  was  additional  fun  rather 
than  inconvenience,  so  voted  and  so  accepted. 
However,  as  the  day  began  to  close  in  and  a 
lull  fell  upon  all  their  pleasure-seeking,  it 
began  to  appear  that  the  little  people  were 
tired.  Naturally ;  they  had  worked  hard  all 
day.  Voices  changed  their  tone. 

"  Oh  dear!  I  wish  it  wouldn't  rain  !  "  cried 
one  young  lady,  pressing  her  face  against  the 
window,  down  the  outside  of  which  the 
streams  of  rain  drops  were  running  fast. 

"  Might  as  well  wish  something  else,  Car 
rie,  while  you  are  about  it,7'  Norton  said. 

"I  can't!" 

"  I  wish  I  was  home,"  said  another. 

"  Wait  till  to-morrow,  and  you  will  have 
your  wish." 

"  But  I  don't  want  to  wait." 

"Don't  you  know  some  new  games,  Es 
ther?" 

This  sort  of  thing  went  on  for  some  time 


TRADING.  405 

till  tea  and  cake  made  a  diversion,  and  lights 
were  brought.  Then  the  cry  was,  "  What 
shall  we  do  all  the  rest  of  the  evening  ?  " 

"  I  have  a  game  for  you,"  said  David  at 
last. 

«  What  is  it  ?  what  is  it  ?  " 

"  A  new  game." 

"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  It  is  called,  '  Capital  and  Interest.'  " 

"  I  don't  understand  that,"  pouted  one  of 
the  young  ladies. 

"  You  will  understand  it  fast  enough,  when 
we  come  to  play  it." 

"  How  do  you  play  it  ?  " 

"  You  must  choose  a  Judge  and  a  Re 
corder." 

"What's  a  Recorder?" 

"  Some  one  to  put  down  what  we  say. 
We  all  tell  our  business ;  the  Recorder  sets  it 
down,  and  the  Judge  says  whose  business  is 
worth  the  most." 

"  How  can  he  tell  ?  " 

"  He  can  hear  what  we  say,  and  he  can  use 
his  judgment,  as  we  all  can." 


406  TRADING. 

"  Must  we  tell  the  truth  ?  or  say  what  we 
have  a  mind  ?  " 

"  Either  you  like." 

«  That's  jolly!  "  said  one  of  the  boys.  "  I 
go  in  for  saying  what  we  have  a  mind." 

"Just  imagine  the  nicest  things  you  can," 
David  went  on. 

«  To  eat  ?  "  said  Esther. 

"  No,  no ;  you've  done  enough  of  that 
to-day,"  said  Norton.  "  Imagine  what  you 
have  a  mind  to,  —  every  sort  of  thing  that's 
pleasant." 

u  Well  you  begin,  Norton,  because  you 
understand  it.  We'll  hear  you  play,  and  so 
learn." 

"  We  have  got  to  choose  the  Judge  first. 
And  the  Recorder." 

«  What's  the  Judge  to  do  ?  " 

"  Say  who  has  made  the  best  business." 

"  I  don't  understand  a  bit  of  it,"  said  Es 
ther. 

"  No,  but  you  will  presently.  You'll  see. 
Wait  till  we  begin.  Who  will  you  have  for 
Judge?" 


TBADING.  407 

There  was  a  general  cry  of  "  David  Bar 
tholomew  ! " 

"  No,"  said  David,  «  I  won't  be  Judge.  I'll 
be  Recorder,  if  you  like.  For  Judge,  I  pro 
pose  Norton  Laval." 

Norton  was  agreed  upon  unanimously. 

"  Now  we  are  ready.  Esther,  we  will  begin 
at  you.  Tell  what  you  have,  or  what  you 
would  like  to  have ;  and  then,  what  you  would 
do  with  it,  or  use  it  for." 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,"  said  Es 
ther. 

"  You  are  not  tied  to  facts.  Tell  what  you 
like.  What  would  you  most  like  ?  " 

"  Most  like  ?  "  repeated  Esther.  «  Let  me 
see.  It's  very  hard  to  begin  with  me,  when  I 
don't  know  the  game.  Let  us  see.  I  think 
I  should  like  to  have  the  most  beautiful  dia 
monds  in  New  York." 

"  Very  good,"  said  Norton.  "  Now  tell 
what  you  would  do  with  them." 

"  Do  with   them  ?     Why,  wear   them,  of 


408  TRADING. 

"  Of  course,'*  said  Norton.  "  But  the  dia 
monds  are  your  capital,  you  understand ; 
what  interest  will  you  get  for  your  capital  ? 
What  good  will  they  do  you,  Esther  ?  that's 
it." 

"  What  good  ?  "  said  Esther.  "  Why,  if  I 
had  the  finest  jewels  of  anybody,  don't  you 
see  I  should  outshine  everybody  ?  " 

"  I  don't  see  it,"  said  Norton ;  "  but  then 
I'm  not  in  that  line.  It's  your  business  we 
are  talking  of.  Put  it  down  properly,  Re 
corder.  Now  Bob  Francis  —  what's  your 
idea  of  a  jolly  life,  eh  ?  " 

"  /  don't  know !  "  said  Bob.  He  was  a 
year  older  than  his  sister ;  not  a  year  brighter. 

"  O  yes,  you  do.  Fancy  —  but  I  don't  be 
lieve  you  can  fancy.  What  would  you  like 
best,  Bob  ?  —  come  !  " 

"  I'd  like  as  well  as  anything  to  be  a  cav 
alry  officer,  and  have  nothing  to  do  but  ride." 

"  A  cavalry  officer  has  a  great  deal  to  do, 
I  can  tell  you,  my  fine  fellow,  besides  riding," 
said  David. 


TRADING.  409 

"  O  well;  /  don't  want  to  have  anything 
else  to  do,"  said  Bob.  "I'd  cut  school;  it's 
a  bore." 

"  But  you  can't  ride  always.  What  will  be 
the  good  of  your  riding  when  you  are  sick,  or 
get  old  ?  " 

"  O  then  I'll  die,"  said  Bob  contentedly. 

"  Let  it  stand,  Davy,"  said  Norton.  "  Write 
him  down,  with  a  horse  and  a  saddle  for  his 
capital  and  riding  his  business.  Who's  next  ? 
Hatty  Delaplaine  !  What  will  you  have  ?  " 

Hatty,  a  pale,  freckled  girl,  with  twinkling 
gray  eyes,  was  ready  with  her  answer. 

"  I'd  like  to  have  Stewart's  store,  all  to 
myself,  and  a  dressmaker." 

"  The  dressmaker  all  to  yourself  too,  I 
suppose.  Girls  are  the  queerest  things ! " 
said  Norton. 

"  Not  a  bit  queerer  than  boys,"  spoke  up 
Judy. 

"  Well,  —  see  if  the  present  game  does  not 
prove  them  so,"  said  Norton.  "  What'll  you 
do  with  Stewart's  and  a  dressmaker,  Hatty 
Delaplaine  ?  " 


410  TRADING. 

"  Don't  you  see  ?  I'd  never  wear  the  same 
dress  twice,  and  I  wouldn't  have  the  same  for 
breakfast  or  luncheon  or  dinner ;  and  I  would 
have  the  most  beautiful  dresses  that  ever  were 
seen." 

"  What  would  you  do  with  them,  after 
once  wearing  ?  "  David  asked. 

"  O  I  should  never  know  and  never  care. 
My  maid  would  dispose  of  them,  1  suppose. 
I  should  have  enough  to  do  to  think  of  the 
new  ones.  But  I  do  love  costumes!"  the 
girl  added,  clasping  her  hands. 

"  Is  that  a  '  costume '  you  have  got  on  ?  " 
Norton  asked. 

"  Nonsense  !  it  isn't  anything.  I  haven't 
got  Stewart's  and  my  dressmaker  yet.  When 
I  have,  you'll  know  it." 

"  Juliet  Bracebridge !  —  speak  if  you  please. 
I'm  finished,"  said  Norton.  "  This  is  the 
richest  game  I've  seen  yet.  Juliet?  —  " 

"  I  think  I  should  like  a  perfect  little  car 
riage,  and  a  perfect  pair  of  horses,  and  to  go 
driving  over  the  world." 


TRADING.  411 

"  Where  ?  "  said  Norton.  "  You  mean,  over 
the  Central  Park  and  the  Boulevards." 

"  No,  I  don't.     I  mean  what  I  say." 

"  Bad  roads  in  some  places,"  said  Norton. 
"  Up  Vesuvius,  for  instance ;  or  over  Mont 
Blanc  in  winter.  Greece  is  dangerous, 
and  —  " 

"Don't  talk  nonsense,  Norton  Laval.  Of 
course  I  should  drive  where  I  could  drive,  and 
would  like  to  drive.  Over  Mont  Blanc  in 
winter,  indeed ! " 

"  Well,  come  to  business.  A  perfect  pair 
of  horses  and  perfect  carriage,  —  that's  your 
capital ;  and  you'll  go  driving  all  over.  What 
will  be  the  interest  on  your  capital,  do  you 
think?  in  other  words,  what  will  you  take 
by  it  ?  " 

"  I  should  always  have  a  variety,  don't  you 
see,  and  not  have  time  to  get  tired  of  any 
thing." 

"  Are  there  roads  enough  in  the  world  to 
last  you  ?  "  said  Norton.  "  I  declare !  these 
girls  —  Joe  Benton,  give  us  your  mind." 


412  TRADING. 

"  Til  make  a  fortune,  Norton." 

"  All  right     What'll  you  do  with  it  ?  " 

"I'll  have  the  best  house,  and  the  hand 
somest  wife,  and  the  largest  estate  in  the 
country." 

"  You'll  buy  your  wife  with  your  money  ?  " 
asked  Judy. 

"  Easy,"  —  said  Joe,  grinning. 

"  I  don't  care  —  'twont  be  me"  said  Judy. 
u  I  pity  the  woman." 

"  Why  ?  "  said  Joe.  "  She'll  have  every 
thing  she  wants,  too." 

"  Excepting  the  right  person,"  said  Judy. 

"  Well  I  don't  care  ;  it  won't  be  you,"  said 
Joe ;  "  so  you  may  say  what  you  like." 

"  I  would  if  it  was,"  said  Judy. 

But  a  chorus  of  laughter  broke  them  off. 

"  Judy's  next,"  said  Norton.  "  I  should 
like  to  hear  what  you  will  say,  Judy." 

"  I  should  like  to  be  a  queen,"  said  Judy. 

"  That's  it !  Go  to  the  top  at  once.  Well, 
you've  got  to  show  why.  What  would  you 
do  if  you  were  a  queen  ?  " 


TRADING.  413 

"  I'd  put  down  all  preaching  and  praying, 
and  people's  making  fools  of  themselves  with 
giving  away  their  money  to  poor  folks,  and 
nursing  sick  folks,  and  all  the  rest  of  it." 

"Why   Judy!"    exclaimed    one    or   two. 
"You'd  stop  preaching?" 

"Wouldn't  you  be  sorry !  "  said  Judy. 

"  No,  but  really.  Wouldn't  you  let  people 
be  ministers  ?  " 

"Ministers  like  Dr.  Blandford.  He  don't 
give  away  his  money,  I'll  be  bound ;  and  he 
likes  his  glass  of  wine  and  smokes  his  pipe 
like  other  folks." 

"  He  don't  smoke  a  pipe,  Judy." 

"  You  know  what  I  mean.  If  I  had  said 
he  likes  his  grog,  you  wouldn't  have  thought 
it  was  made  of  gin,  would  you  ?  " 

"  So  you'd  be  a  queen,  to  stop  religious 
toleration  ?  "  said  Norton. 

"  I'd  stop  any"  said  Judy.  "  I  don't  care 
whether  it's  religious  or  not." 

"  But  what's  given  you  such  a  spite  at 
religious  people?  "  asked  Esther. 


414  TRADING. 

"  Mean  !  "  said  Judy.  «  Artful.  Conceited 
to  death.  Stupid.  And  insane." 

There    was     again     a    chorus    of    "  Oh 
Judy !  "  's. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Norton.  "  When  she's 
queen,  I'll  sell  out  and  buy  an  estate  in  some 
other  country.  Who's  next  ?  " 

"  I  knew  you'd  be  sneaking  along  presently, 
at  the  tail  of  some  black  coat  or  other,"  Judy 
responded.  "  It's  in  you.  The  disease'll 
break  out." 

"  I  don't  know  what's  in  me,"  said  Norton. 
"  Something  that  makes  me  hot.  I'm  afraid 
it  isn't  religious.  Roswell  Holt,  what's  your 
idea  of  capital  and  business  ?  Do  leave  Judy 
to  her  own  fancies.  This  game's  getting  to 
be  warm  work.  Roswell !  —  it's  your  turn." 
"  I  believe,"  Roswell  began  sedately ;  he  was 
an  older  boy  than  most  of  them  and  very 
quiet ;  "  I  believe,  what  I  should  like  would 
be,  to  know  all  the  languages  there  are  in  the 
world  ;  and  then  to  have  a  library  so  large 
that  all  the  books  in  the  world  should  be  in  it" 


TRADING.  415 

"  Capital !  "  said  Norton.  "  What  good 
would  that  do  you  ?  " 

"  Why,  T  could  read  everything,"  said  Ros- 
well. 

"  And  what  good  would  that  do  you  ?  " 

«  I  should  like  it,"  said  Roswell.  «  I  should 
have  what  I  like." 

"  Solomon  tried  that  once,"  said  David, 
who  was  taking  diligently  his  reporter's  notes. 
"  It  didn't  seem  to  answer  then." 

"  Ah,  but  there  were  not  so  many  books  in 
his  day,"  said  Roswell. 

"  The  worse  for  you,  I  should  say.  Besides, 
there  are  not  so  many  now  as  there  will  be  a 
thousand  years  hence.  How  about  that,  old 
fellow?" 

"  I  can't  read  what  there'll  be  a  thousand 
years  hence,"  said  Roswell. 

"  You  couldn't  read  what  there  are  now,  if 
you  had  them.  You  could  not  live  long 
enough." 

"  What  a  musty  old  fogy  he  would  be,  by 
the  time  he  had  gone  half  through ! "  said 


416  TRADING. 

Judy.  "  He  would  have  used  up  his  eyes ; 
his  spectacles  would  have  made  a  ridge  on  his 
nose ;  he  would  live  in  an  old  coat  that  was 
never  brushed  ;  and  his  books  would  be  all 
coffee  stains,  because  he  would  take  his 
breakfast  over  them.  Poor  old  creature !  " 

"  You'll  be  old  then  yourself,  Judy,"  said 
some  one. 

"  I  won't,"  said  the  young  lady  promptly. 
"  I  mean  to  keep  young." 

"Ben  Johnson  —  go  ahead,"  said  Norton. 
"  If  s  your  turn." 

"  I'd  like  to  go  supercargo  in  the  China 
trade,"  said  Ben ;  a  lively-looking  fellow 
enough. 

"  Good,"  said  Norton.  "  Say  why.  Love 
of  the  sea  wouldn't  take  you  to  China,  I  sup 
pose." 

"  Not  exactly,"  said  Ben,  with  a  confiden 
tial  gleam  in  his  eyes.  "  I  should  have  noth 
ing  to  do  —  and  smoke  seventy  cigars  a  day." 

"  Seventy  cigars !  "  cried  out  two  or  three 
of  the  girls.  "  Horrid  !  " 


TRADING.  417 

«  You  couldn't  do  it,  old  fellow." 

"  Easy,"  said  Ben.  "  My  cousins,  Will 
Larkins  and  Dan  Boston,  did  it  every  day." 

"  They  must  be  of  a  practical  turn  of  mind, 
I  should  think,"  said  Norton.  "  They  meant 
their  voyage  should  pay  —  somebody  —  and 
so  concluded  it  should  be  the  tobacconist. 
Lucy  Ellis  —  ?" 

"  I  should  like  to  be  very  beautiful,"  said 
the  girl,  who  had  some  pretensions  that  way 
already,  or  she  wouldn't  have  said  it  in  pub 
lic, —  "and  have  everybody  love  me." 

"  Everybody  ! "  cried  Judy.  "  All  the  boys, 
you  mean." 

"  No  indeed,"  said  the  beauty  with  a  toss 
of  her  head.  " I  mean  all  the  men" 

"  But  people  don't  love  people  because  they 
are  handsome,"  said  Norton. 

"  Don't  they,  though  ! "  said  Ben  Johnson, 
who  was  a  beauty  in  his  way  ;  as  indeed  so 
also  was  Norton.  But  here  arose  a  furious 
debate  of  the  question,  in  which  almost  every 
body  took  part  excepting  David  and  Matilda. 
27 


41 8  TRADING. 

Laughing  and  shouting  and   discussing,  the 
original  game  was  almost  lost  sight  of;  and 
David  sat  with  his  pen  in  his  hand,  and  Ma 
tilda  listened  in  wondering  amusement,  while 
the  negative  and  the  affirmative  of  the  propo 
sition  were  urged  and  argued  and  fought  for. 
At  last  Norton  appealed. 
«  What  do  you  think,  David  ?  " 
"  What  do  you  think  of  our  game  ?  " 
"  I  had  forgot  it,  that's  a  fact,"  said  Norton. 
"  Who's   next  ?     O    come  along,  we'll  never 
settle  that  question.     Who's   next?     Pink,  I 
believe   it  is   you.     Matilda    Laval!    what's 
your  capital  and  business  ?  " 

"  Now  you'll  get  a  queer  one,"  said  Judy. 
"  It  won't  be  the  first,  by  some,"  said  Nor 
ton  ;  "  that's  one  thing." 

"  This'll   be   a   good    one.      Oh,   ever   so 
good!"  said  Judy. 

"•It  won't  be  anything,  if  you  can't  hush," 
said  Norton  impatiently.  "  Come,  Pink, 
whatever  it  is,  let  us  have  it.  What' s  your 
fancy?" 


TRADING.  419 

"  I  should  like  to  have  a  medicine  that 
would  be  sure  to  cure,"  said  Matilda. 

"  A  medicine !  "  cried  Norton. 

"  She'd  be  a  doctor,"  exclaimed  Judy  with 
a  burst  of  laughter. 

«  What  for,  Pink  ?  " 

"  I  would  go  round,  making  sick  people 
well." 

"  Beautiful,  ain't  it?  "  said  Judy.  "  O  we 
have  such  lots  of  goodness  in  our  house,  you 
wouldn't  know  it ;  and  I  don't  know  it  my 
self.  Fact  is,  it  confuses  me." 

"  Bill  Langridge  ?  " 

"  Governor  of  the  State,"  —called  out  Bill 
in  reply. 

"  Why  don't  you  say  (  Sultan  of  Muscat,' 
at  once?" 

"  Don't  know  Muscat  —  and  don't  care 
about  governing  where  I'm  a  stranger.  Might 
make  mistakes,  you  see." 

"  Well  —  what's  the  good  in  being  Gov 
ernor  of  the  State  ?  —  to  you  ?  " 

"  Having  things  my  own  way,  don't  you 
see  ?  and  at  top  of  everything." 


420  TRADING. 

"  There's  the  President,  and  all  his  secre 
taries,"  said  Norton. 

"  They're  not  in  my  way.  In  the  State, 
you  know,  nobody  is  over  the  Governor." 

"  That's  what  you  call  a  moderate  ambi 
tion,"  said  David. 

"  Aims  pretty  high,"  said  Bill. 

"  Not  high  enough,"  said  another  boy.  "  I'd 
choose  to  be  commander  in  chief  of  the  army." 

"  How's  that  any  higher,  Watson  ? "  said 
Bill. 

"  Military  rule,"  said  Watson.  "  Your 
Governor  has  to  consult  this  one  and  'tother 
one,  and  go  by  the  Legislature  too,  when 
all's  done ;  the  commander  in  chief  asks  leave 
of  nobody." 

"  Well,  Elisha  Peters,  what's  your  ambi 
tion  ?  "  called  out  Norton. 

"I'd  like  a  little  money,  —  enough,  you 
know,  not  too  much  ;  and  to  go  travelling  all 
over  the  world  on  foot." 

"  On  foot!  "  said  Norton.  "  What  would 
you  get.  out  of  that  ?  " 


TRADING.  421 

"  I  should  see  everything.  Not  part,  you 
know,  as  everybody  does ;  I  should  see  every 
thing." 

"  What  would  you  do,  Elisha,  when  you  had 
got  to  the  end  of  everything  ?  —  seen  it  all  ?  " 

"  Don't  believe  I  could.  The  world's  big 
enough  to  last  one  man." 

"  Don't  know  but  what  it  is,"  said  Norton. 
"  Will  you  write  a  book  ?  " 

"  Guess  not.     Take  too  much  time." 

"  Then  the  travelling  would  do  nobody  good 
but  you  ?  "  said  David. 

"  Who  else  should  it  ?  "  replied  Elisha. 

"  The  look  would  do  nobody  any  good,  if 
he  were  to  write  it,"  suggested  Judy. 

"  Polite  "  —  said  Elisha. 

"  Selfish  "  —  retorted  Judy. 

"  Everybody  is  selfish,"  returned  the  young 
cynic. 

"  'Tain't  true,"  said  Norton  ;  "  but  I  haven't 
time  to  argue  just  now.  I've  got  work 
enough  to  do  as  a  judge.  Are  we  most 
through  ?  I  declare,  here's  half  a  dozen  more 


422  TRADING. 

to  speak.  Speak  quick,  please ;  and  don't 
say  so  many  odd  things.  The  judge's  work 
isn't  going  to  be  a  trifle,  in  this  court.  Dick 
Morton,  go  ahead." 

"  I'd  like  to  be  able  to  do  just  what  I  have 
a  mind  to,"  said  Dick. 

"  Bravo !  only  that's  what  we're  all  after. 
Come  a  little  nearer  the  p'int,  Dick ;  what'll 
you  do  with  your  time  ?  " 

"  I'd  be  a  hunter.  I'd  have  first-rate  rifles, 
you  know,  and  pistols,  and  all  that ;  and  peo 
ple  to  help ;  and  I'd  just  go  hunting.  I'd  kill 
buffaloes  in  the  West  till  I  had  enough  of 
that,  and  take  a  turn  at  a  bear  or  so ;  then 
I'd  go  to  Africa  and  have  a  royal  time  with 
the  rhinoceros  and  lions,  and  maybe  croco 
diles.  I'd  spend  a  good  while  in  Africa. 
Elephants,  too.  Then  I'd  cross  over  to  India 
and  hunt  tigers.  I'd  chase  ostriches  too." 

«  Not  in  India,"  said  David. 

"  I  didn't  say,  in  India ;  but  where  they  are. 
Deer  of  course,  everywhere ;  and  chamois,  and 
all  that." 


TBADING.  423 

"  Birds  ?  "  suggested  Norton. 

"  O  yes,  by  the  way,  you  know.  I'd  live 
upon  ducks  and  snipe  and  wild  turkey." 

"  When  you  weren't  eating  venison  and 
buffalo  hump,"  said  David. 

"  Well  —  I'd  have  variety  enough,"  said 
Dick.  "  I  tell  you !  a  hunter's  supper  is 

jolly." 

«  All  alone  ?  "  said  Esther. 

"  Another  specimen  of  selfishness,"  said 
Judy.  "They're  all  alike  as  two  pears  — 
only  some  of  'em  are  green,  and  the  others  a 
different  colour." 

"  That's  your  business,"  said  Norton  sum 
ming  up ;  "  now  what's  the  good  of  it,  Dick  ?  " 

«  Fun.     What's  the  good  of  anything?  " 

"  To  be  sure,"  said  the  Judge.  "  Julie  Simp 
son?" 

But  Julie  wriggled  and  simpered,  and  could 
not  be  got  to  express  herself  otherwise.  The 
sayings  of  several  next  corning  were  only 
echoes  of  some  one  or  other  of  those  who  had 
spoken.  Norton  grew  impatient. 


424  TRADING. 

"  That'll  do,"  he  said  ;  "  now  for  the  Re- 
corder.  It's  time  the  Judge  finished  up. 
The  best  part  of  the  play  comes  after." 

"  What's  that  ?  "  said  somebody  ;  "  what 
comes  after  ?  I  thought  this  was  the  whole." 

"  You  wouldn't  catch  me  playing  '  Capital 
and  Interest'  very  often,  if  it  was,"  said  Nor 
ton.  "  No ;  the  best  business  man,  or  the  one 
who  has  the  best  business,  is  to  appoint  for 
feits  to  all  the  rest ;  and  if  he  knows  how  to 
do  it,  I  tell  you!  that's  fun." 

"  But  how  are  we  to  decide  who  has  the 
best  business  ?  " 

"  Can't !  The  Judge  does  that.  Go  ahead, 
David.  What's  your  business  ?  " 

"  I  wish  it  was  peddling  old  shoes ! "  said 
Judy. 

"Why?"  several  asked. 
"  It   won't   be    anything    as    respectable. 
We've    taken    to    turning   old   coats    at   our 
house." 

"  Go  ahead,  Davy  !  "  cried  Norton. 

But  David  was  deliberate  about  it.  He 
finished  his  writing,  and  looked  up. 


TRADING.  425 

"  I  think  rny  capital  is  myself"  he  said  with 
a  smile.  "  I  mean  to  make  the  most  of  myself, 
in  every  way  I  can  think  of;  as  well  as  of  my 
money,  and  whatever  else  I  have  got." 

"  Don't  sound  so  bad,"  said  Elisha  looking 
at  Judy. 

"  Well  Davy,"  said  Norton  ;  "  what  are 
you  going  to  do  with  yourself,  after  you  have 
made  the  most  you  can  of  it?" 

"  I  am  the  servant  of  the  King  Messiah," 
said  David  with  a  smile  again  ;  "  myself  and 
all  I  have  belong  to  him,  and  I  want  to  make 
the  most  of  them  for  Jesus  and  his  work  and 
his  Kingdom.  They  are  the  talents  He  has 
given  me  to  work  with.  And  when  the  King 
comes  to  take  account  of  me,  I  want  to  be 
able  to  say,  '  Lord,  thy  pound  hath  gained 
five  pounds.' ' 

The  little  people  were  silent.  David  spoke 
so  simply  and  in  so  business-like  fashion,  there 
was  no  game  to  be  made  of  his  words ;  and 
nothing  was  said,  till  Norton  remarked  he  did 
not  know  what  he  was  going  to  do ;  he  could 


426  TRADING. 

not  remember  one  half  that  had  been  said  for 
him  to  pass  judgment  upon. 

"  I've  got  it  all  here,"  said  David.  "  Take 
your  seat,  and  begin ;  I'll  read  you  two,  and 
you  choose  the  best  in  your  judgment  of 
those ;  then  take  another  and  compare  with 
that,  and  so  on." 

"  Well,"  said  Norton.  "  Get  along,  David. 
It's  a  pesky  business,  this  being  judge,  I  can 
tell  you." 

"  Silence  in  the  court !  "  said  David.  "  Es 
ther  Francis ;  capital,  the  most  beautiful  dia 
monds  in  New  York  ;  interest,  she  outshines 
everybody." 

"Next"  — said  Norton. 

"  I  didn't  say  that,  did  I?  "  asked  Esther. 

"  Of  course  you  said  that ;  he's  got  it  down. 
Next,  David  ?  " 

"  Bob  Francis.  Capital,  a  cavalry  officer's 
commission  and  a  horse.  Intm-st,  he'll 
ride." 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !  "  laughed  a  round  chorus 
of  the  children. 


TRADING.  427 

"Silence  in  the  court!"  repeated  David. 
"  We  wait  for  the  Judge's  decision." 

"  Hm !  —  I  wish  you  had  it  to  do !  "  growled 
Norton,  rubbing  his  head.  "  Which  is  the 
best  business  of  those  two  ?  Well,  between 
diamonds  and  horses,  if  you're  shut  up  to 
them,  I  think  a  horse  is  the  best  stock  in 
trade." 

"  But  the  business  —  the  interest,"  said  Bob. 
"  Ain't  riding  like  a  man  better  than  sitting 
or  dressing  to  be  stared  at  like  a  woman  ?  " 

"  I  think  it's  the  most  manly,"  Norton  re 
peated. 

"  But  not  the  most  womanly  ?  "  said  Es 
ther. 

"  No,  not  the  most  womanly." 

"  Well,  which  is  best  ?  "  somebody  cried. 

"  Riding  is  the  best  for  me,"  said  Norton. 
"  I  should  feel  like  a  fool  in  diamonds." 

"  A  Hindoo  rajah,  or  a  Persian  shah,  or 
an  Arab  emir  wouldn't  feel  so,"  suggested 
David. 

"  I  am  not  a  Hindoo  nor  an  Arab,  though," 


428  TRADING. 

said  Norton.  "  If  I  am  to  give  judgment  I'll 
give  it  like  a  good  American.  And  I  say, 
that  a  saddle  is  better  than  a  jewel-box  any 
day ;  and  it's  better  in  my  judgment  to  ride 
for  one's  life,  than  to  make  people's  eyes  wink 
with  looking  at  you.  Go  on,  Recorder!  " 

"  Hatty  Delaplaine.  Capital,  a  dressmaker 
and  dry-goods  unlimited.  Interest,  nothing 
but  new  dresses." 

"  Riding  is  better  than  dressing,"  said  the 
Judge.  "  Bob  Francis  has  it  yet." 

"  But  why  is  it  better  ?  "  asked  Miss  Hatty. 
The  Judge  was  a  little  at  a  loss. 

"  I  tell  you  what,"  said  he,  "  my  business  is 
hard  enough  as  it  is ;  I  can't  stand  any  ag 
gravations.  I'll  take  the  sense  of  the  assembly. 
All  who  say  as  I  do,  hold  up  their  hands." 

But  it  was  found  that  the  judgments  were 
essentially  masculine  and  feminine ;  the  girls 
sided  with  Hatty,  the  boys  with  Bob. 

"  There's  most  good  to  be  done  by  riding," 
said  Norton. 

"  There  ain't!  "  said  Judy.  "  Dressing  en 
courages  the  working  people." 


TRADING.  429 

"  And  there's  no  good  in  riding  at  the  head 
of  soldiers,"  said  Hatty. 

"  Well,  it  is  a  more  noble  occupation/'  said 
Norton. 

"  I  don't  see  the  nobility ! "  said  Roswell 
Holt. 

«  Well,  I  don't  care  !  "  said  Norton.  «  Let 
them  both  stand  together  then.  I  hope  there'll 
be  something  more  remarkable  than  either  of 
'em." 

"  Juliet  Bracebridge.  A  carriage  and  horses. 
Will  drive  all  over  the  world.  Thinks  she'll 
never  know  ennui." 

«  Juliet  has  it,"  said  the  Judge.  «  That's 
better  than  just  riding  or  dressing  for  its  own 
sake.  I'd  like  driving  over  the  world  myself. 
What  next?" 

"Joe  Benton.  Will  have  a  fortune.  In 
terest,  wife,  house,  and  estate  better  than  any 
body  else." 

"  I  don't  believe  the  best  wife  can  be  bought," 
said  Roswell. 

u  And  the  best  house  for  you  mightn't  be 
the  best  house  for  me,"  said  Judy. 


430  TRADING. 

"  He  didn't  mean  it  for  you,  Judy,"  said  her 
cousin  Bob. 

"  Judge'll  never  get  through,  if  you  don't 
stop  these  civilities,"  said  Norton.  "  I  decide 
for  Joe.  No,  I  don't!  I  decide  for  Juliet. 
Nicer  to  go  contentedly  travelling  all  over, 
than  to  take  all  one's  comfort  in  one's  pride. 
Juliet  has  it  yet." 

"Judy  Bartholomew.  Will  have  a  queen's 
power,  and  the  use  of  it  is  to  put  down  re 
ligious  freedom  in  her  dominions." 

"  Juliet  has  it ! "  shouted  Norton.  "  Better 
amuse  yourself  not  at  other  people's  expense, 
I  think,  if  you  can  manage  it." 

"  Roswell  Holt ;  all  books  in  all  languages, 
and  power  to  understand  them.  Finds  the 
good  of  his  life  in  reading." 

"  That  sounds  sensible,"  said  Norton.  "  I 
give  it  for  Roswell  over  Juliet." 

"  But  why  ?  "  urged  Juliet. 

"  There's  something  in  books,  you  see." 

"  I  am  sure  there  is  a  good  deal  in  countries 
and  cities  and  people." 


TRADING.  431 

"  True,"  said  Norton. 

"  How's  his  business  better  than  mine  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  Seems  as  if  it  ought  to 
be." 

"  He  pleases  himself  one  way,  and  I  an 
other." 

"  And  I  another,"  said  Esther. 

"  True.  But  books  are  books,  as  I  said 
before.  Now  there's  nothing  in  diamonds." 

"  There  is  in  travelling,"  said  Juliet  again. 

"  Yes,  there  is.  But  the  books  shew  a 
higher  aspiration,  Miss  Bracebridge." 

"  I  don't  see  it,"  said  the  young  lady  pout 
ing. 

"  Well,  when  you  are  Judge,  you'll  know 
how  easy  it  is,"  said  Norton.  "  After  all,  it's 
only  a  game.  Go  ahead,  David." 

"  Ben  Johnson.  Goes  supercargo  to  China. 
Object,  to  do  nothing  and  smoke  seventy 
cigars  a  day." 

"  Roswell  has  it  yet,"  said  Norton.  "  Go 
ahead." 

"  Lucy  Ellis.  Great  beauty.  Loves  to  have 
all  men  look  at  her." 


432  TRADING. 

11  Roswell  has  it !  "  cried  Norton.  "  No  stop. 
Go  on." 

l(  Matilda  Laval.  Has  a  medicine  for  all 
ills ;  and  she  lives  to  cure  people." 

"  Matilda  has  it,"  said  Norton,  in  a  some 
what  lowered  tone. 

"  Bill  Langridge.  Governor  of  the  State. 
Object,  to  have  things  his  own  way." 

"Matilda  has  it!"  said  the  judge  judi 
cially. 

"  Egbert  Watson  —  prefers  military  to  civil 
rule  ;  therefore  chooses  to  be  head  of  the  army 
instead  of  the  State.  Object,  same  as  Bill 
Langridge's." 

"  Matilda  Laval  has  it,"  said  the  Judge.  He 
began  somehow  to  look  gloomy. 

"  Elisha  Peters  —  has  freedom  to  go  through 
the  world  on  foot.  Object,  is  to  see  every 
thing." 

"  Matilda  Laval  has  it !  "  growled  the  Judge. 

"  Dick  Morton.  His  capital  is  rifles,  with 
powder  and  ball  ;  object  in  life,  to  kill  or  to 
hunt  and  eat  wild  beasts." 


TRADING.  433 

"  Don't  come  near  Matilda  Laval's,"  said 
the  Judge. 

"  Julia  Simpson  has  no  object." 

"  Easy  disposed  of,"  said  Norton. 

"  Ned  Forsyth  agrees  with  Watson ;  Mary 
Fortescue  sides  with  Lucy  Ellis ;  and  half  a 
dozen  more  with  Lucy,  Roswell  Holt,  Bill, 
and  Miss  Bracebridge." 

"  Then  there's  only  you,"  said  Norton 
gloomily. 

"  David  Bartholomew.  Capital,  himself 
and  all  he  has,  to  be  made  the  most  of. 
Business,  to  use  it  all  for  the  King  whose  ser 
vant  I  am." 

"What's  the  interest?"  growled  Norton, 
after  a  moment's  pause.  "  But  stop !  how 
are  you  going  to  use  it  ?  you  don't  tell  your 
business  after  all.  What  are  you  going  to 
do?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  David.  "  The  King's 
will,  whatever  that  is.  Whatever  he  gives 
me  to  do." 

"  The  interest  ?  " 

28 


434  TRADING. 

11  That  comes  all  along  the  way,"  said 
David.  "  But  at  the  end —  I  shall  inherit  all 
things!" 

"  Is  that  a  proper  way  of  speaking,  Da 
vid  ?  "  said  Esther  gravely. 

"  That's  the  promise,"  said  David. 

"  He's  an  old  prig,  that's  what  he  is! "  said 
one  of  the  boys. 

"  No,"  said  David,  "  stop !  hear  me  ;  you 
don't  understand.  In  that  day  the  King  will 
take  account  of  his  servants.  And  to  those 
who  can  say  to  him,  '  Lord,  thy  pound  hath 
gained  ten  pounds'  —  or* five  pounds'  —  he 
will  say,  *  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser 
vant  ;  thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few 
things  ;  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many 
things ;  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.' 
I  want  that." 

Something  about  the  manner  of  David's 
speech  stilled  the  impatient  little  company. 
David  was  always  much  looked  up  to  and 
somewhat  feared ;  and  now  he  had  spoken 
with  a  clear  and  sweet  business  tone  which 


TRADING.  435 

left  no  hold  for  ridicule.  Nobody  attempted 
it ;  and  Judy  saw  her  time  was  not  then  and 
kept  silence.  So  did  the  Judge  ;  too  long, 
some  of  them  thought. 

"  I  suppose  Matilda  and  you  are  in  the 
same  box,"  he  began,  "  and  what  I  give  to 
one  of  you  I  must  give  to  the  other." 

"No,  no,  you  mustn't!*'  was  cried  in  a 
stream  of  little  voices.  "  They  didn't  say  the 
same  thing  at  all ;  you  must  judge  by  what 
they  said." 

"  They  both  meant  the  same  thing,  I  know," 
said  Norton  ;  "  but  if  I  must  go  by  what  they 
said,  then  David  spoke  more  clearly  than  Ma 
tilda.  Bartholomew  has  it." 

"  Reasons !  reasons !  "  cried  Judy  and  one 
or  two  more  ;  for  it  was  usual  for  the  Judge 
to  fortify  himself  thus  in  the  opinions  of  his 
little  assembly. 

"  Well,"  said  Norton,  without  his  usual 
readiness,  "  the  reasons  are  plain  enough. 
The  best  business  is  what  yields  the  best 
interest ;  and  you  may  judge  yourselves,  if 


436  TEADTNO. 

working  for  other  people  isn't  nobler  than 
working  for  oneself.  And  as  to  the  interest, 
—  well,  you  know,  —  if  you  come  to  look  at 
it,"  Norton  went  on  not  very  lucidly  —  "  that's 
better  than  this." 

11  What's  better  than  which  ?  "  said  Judy. 

"Come,  Judy,"  said  her  brother;  "what 
will  last,  is  better  than  what  won't  last ;  and 
all  your  diamonds  cannot  compare  with  *  shin 
ing  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever;'  and  the 
King's  court  will  be  better  than  any  little 
king's  or  queen's  rule  in  this  world." 

There  was  a  general  cry  now  for  the  for 
feits.  It  fell  to  David  by  right  to  dispense 
them.  I  have  not  time  to  tell  how  witty  and 
how  pleasant  they  were ;  but  only  that  thry 
brought  every  one  into  good  humour  long 
before  the  game  was  out. 

The  little  party  slept  at  the  house,  and 
returned  to  town  by  an  early  train  next 
morning. 

"  David,"  said  Matilda,  catching  him  a 
moment  by  himself  after  they  got  home,  — • 


TRADING.  437 

"  don't  you  think  Norton  is  coming  round  ?  " 
She  spoke  eagerly,  anxiously,  almost   exult- 


"  Give  him  time,  Tilly,"  said  David  smil 
ing.  "  He  rather  committed  himself  last  night, 
I  think  he  will." 


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A  Tale  of  the  Days  of  James  the  Second.     i2mo.     $1.75. 

The  Day  Star; 

Or,  The   Gospel   Story  for  the   Little   Ones.      16   tinted 
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Who    Won. 

By  the  author  of  "Win  and  Wear."     i6mo.     $1.25. 

By  the  same  Author. 

WIN  AND  WEAR  SERIES.     6  vols. $7.50 

THE  LEDGESIDE  SERIES.     6  vols 7.50 

THE  GREEN  MOUNTAIN  STORIES.     5  vols 6.00 

BUTTERFLY'S  FLIGHTS.     3  vols 2.25 


Only  Ned; 

Or,  Grandma's  Message.  By  Jennie  M.  .Drinkwater. 
i6mo.  $i  25. 

The   Warrior   Judges. 

By  the  Rev.  Dr.  Macduff.     i6mo.     3  illustrations.     $1.00. 

The  Beatitudes  of  the  Kingdom. 

By  the  Rev.  J.  Oswald  Dykes.     i6mo.     $1.25. 

The  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah. 

Their  History  explained  to  Children.  By  the  author  of 
the  "  Peep  of  Day."  27  illustrations.  $1.50. 

"  We  commend  every  parent  and  every  Sunday-school  teacher  in  the  land  to 
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Th  o  ugh  t-  Hives . 

(Third  Thousand.)  By  the  Rev.  T.  L.  CUYLER,  author  of 
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Ritchie.  $1.75. 

"  Dr.  Cuyler  crowds  many  thoughts  into  few  words.  He  makes  dry  bones 
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The  Song  of  the  New  Creation, 

And  Other  Pieces.  By  Horatius  Bonar,  D.D.  i6mo. 
$1.25- 

"  All  the  sweetest  characteristics  of  Dr.  Bonar's  previous  volumes  of  sacred 
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The   Wars  of  the  Huguenots. 

By  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hanna.     I2mo.     $1.50. 

Saint  Paul  in  Rome; 

Or,  The  Teachings,  Fellowships,  and  Dying  Testimony 
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Macduff,  D.D.  i6mo.  $1.25. 

Jacobus1  Commentaries. 

New  Editions,  at  reduced  prices. 

GENESIS.     2  vols  in  one $1-50 

MATTHEW  AND  MARK 1.50 

LUKB  AND  JOHN 1.50 

ACTS 1.50 

*  Question  Books  adapted  to  each.     Per  dozen 1.80 

The  Scots   Worthies. 

By  John  Howie.  With  more  than  100  illustrations.  Tinted 
paper,  gilt  edges.  $3.50. 

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A  Series  of  Lectures  by  Dr.  McCosh.     Fifth  thousand. 


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Tales  of  Christian  Life. 

By  the  author  of  the  "  Schonberg-Cotta  Family."     5  vols. 
In  box.     $5.00. 

I 

WANDERINGS  OVER  BIBLE  LANDS. 

"  This  new  and  tasteful  edition  of  these  charming  books,  as  good  as  they  are 
delightful,  will  make  them  more  than  ever  popular."  —  Advance. 


CRIPPLE  OF  ANTIOCH.  I  Two  VOCATIONS. 

MARTYRS  OF  SPAIN.  TALES  AND  SKETCHES. 


Nature's    Wonders. 

By  the   Rev.   Dr.  Newton,   author  of  "  Bible  Wonders, 
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By  the  same  A  uthor. 

THE  JEWEL  CASE.     6  vols $7-50 

BIBLE  WONDERS 1.25 

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Dr.  Chalmers'   Sermons. 

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pages.  Price  reduced  to  $3.00. 

Char  nock  on  the  Attributes. 

New  and  Cheap  Edition.  2  volumes  in  i;  containing 
1149  large  Svo  pages.  Price  reduced  to  $3.00. 

McCheyne's   Works. 

Cheap  and  Neat  Edition.  Comprising  his  Life,  Letters, 
Lectures,  and  Sermons.  2  volumes  in  i.  1074  pages.  Svo. 
Price  reduced  to  $3.00. 

Family   Worship. 

A  series  of  Prayers  for  Morning  and  Evening  throughout 
the  year.  New  Edition,  at  half  the  former  price.  $2.50. 

Life  of  Christ. 

By  William  Hanna,  D.D.     3  vols.     i2mo.     $4.50. 


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Kttto's  Bible  Illustrations. 
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Busy  Bees  in  JMargaret  RusscPs  School. 

By  the  author  of  "  Squire  Downing's  Heirs."     $1.25. 

Dow?i  the  Steps. 

By  the  same  author.     $1.25. 

Co  u  a  r.t  Far)> i. 

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Margaret  RusseVs  School. 
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Being  the  first  of  the  "Dare  to  Do  Right"  series.     By 
Julia  A.  Mathews.     $1.10. 

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A.  Mathews.     $1.10. 

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Stories  on  the  Beatitudes.     By  Julia  A.  Mathews.     6  vols. 
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Ministering  Children  and  Sequel. 
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The  A.L.O.E.   Library. 

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JVf.iv  A.L.O.E.    Vols. 

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GUY  DALESFORD o-7^ 

Our  Father  in  Heaven. 

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g  CARTERS'  NEW  BOOKS. 

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What  Sha-wny  did  to  the  Light  House. 
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An  exquisitely  pretty  story,  which  will  delight  all  the  smaller  children. 

Daisy  May  Hard's  Four  Promises. 
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The  Lestrange  Family. 

A  True  Story.     By  Margaret  E.  Wilmer.     i6mo.     $1.00. 

Fresh  Leaves. 

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The  Cash   Boy's    Trust. 
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Mat  and  Sofie. 

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We  got  Agate  of  Singing.    $0.35. 

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Lionel  St.  Clair. 

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Stories  of  Vinegar  Hill. 

By  Miss  Anna  Warner.     6  vols.     In  a  box.     $3.00. 


CARTERS?    BOOKS   FOR    TIIL    YOUNG.  9 

33g  tfjc  &utf)0r  of  tfje  "(EnlUcn  ILafctfer."  Scries. 
Nellie's  Stumbling  Block. 

i6mo.     $1.25. 

Susv's  Sacrifice. 

i6tno.     $1.25. 

The   Green  Mountain  Stories. 

By  the  author  of  "  Win  and  Wear."  5  vols.  In  a  box* 
$6.00. 

The  volumes  are  sold  separately,  viz. :  — 

BINDING  THE  SHEAVES $1-2$ 

WEIGHED  IN   THE   BALANCE 1-25 

EDGHD  TOOLS 1-25 

GIRDING  ON  THE  ARMOR 1-25 

ROBEKT    LlNTON 1-25 

"  These  volumes  are  from  the  pen  of  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  useful  of  our 
writers  for  the  young.  The  stories  they  contain  are  interesting  and  instructive. 
The  vivacity  of  their  style  and  excellence  of  their  reading  will  make  them  wel 
come  additions  to  our  Sabbath  literature.  They  are  put  up  in  a  neat  box."  — 
Christian  Intelligencer. 

Little  Kitty's  Library. 

6  vols.     iSmo.     In  a  box.     $3.00. 

The  Lily  Series. 

By  Mrs.  Sherwood.     6  vols.     In  a  box.     $2.00. 

"  Tlure  are  no  better  stories  for  the  young  than  Mrs.  Sherwood's.  We  have 
*  very  vivid  and  delightful  recollection  of  them,  as  we  read  and  enjoyed  them  in 
our  boyhood."  —  Christian  Herald. 

The  Rainbow  Series. 

By  the  Rev.  P.  B.  Power.     5  vols.    In  a  box.    Comprising 
LAST  SHILLING.  FAGOT  OF  STORIES. 

THREE  CRIPPLES.  STAMP  ON  IT,  JOHN. 

Two  BROTHERS. 

5  vols.    $3.00. 


10  C  tRTERS*    BOOKS    FOR    THE    YOUNG. 

Little  Effie's  Home. 

By  the  author  of  "  Bertie  Lee,"  "  Donald  Fraser,"  &c» 
4  Illustrations.  $1.25. 

"This  story  is  very  gracefully  told."  —  Presbyterian. 
"An  excellent  book  for  the  young." —  Evangelist. 
"A  lively  story,  such  as  children  relish." —  T.  L.  C, 

Donald  Fraser. 

A  Story.  By  the  author  of  "Bertie  Lee,"  "Little  Effie," 
&c.  161110.  $r.oo. 

"  One  of  th«  best  religious  books  we  have  read  in  many  a  day.  It  combines, 
with  a  wise  policy,  solid  Bible  instruction  with  an  entertaining  narrative  of  the 
life  and  adventures  of  Donald  Fraser,  the  hero  of  the  book."  —  Missionary 
Transcript. 

The  Win  and    Wear  Scries. 
6  vols.     In  a  neat  box.     $7.50. 

The  volumes  are  sold  separately,  viz. :  — 

WIN  AND  WEAR $1.25 

.TONY  STARR i  25 

FAITHFUL  AND  TRUE 1.25 

HKD'S  MOTTO 1-25 

TURNING  A  NKW  LEAF 1-25 

MY  NEW  HOME 1.25 

Ministrring  Children  Library. 

Containing  "  Ministering  Children"  and  Sequel.  4  vois. 
i8mo.  In  a  box.  $3.00. 

MINISTKKING  CHILDREN,     i  vol.  12010 f'.5° 

ii    T.I  MINIATURING  CHILDREN,     i  vol.  12010 1.50 

They  tell  of  children  who  minister  to  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  those  about 
them;  of  children  that  bring  relief  to  the  poor,  joy  to  the  sad,  and  symp.ithy  to 
the  Glided,  by  their  loving  deeds  and  gentl^  words;  of  children  that  are  youthful 
reformer*  ;  and  oi  the  blessings  that  children,  by  such  miaiitrie^  cf  "ove  and  charity 
may  bestow. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


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